• Reports are emerging that a decision may have been made as to which school Prince George will attend beginning in September 2026.
  • It has been a bit of a battle of the alma maters for some time between George’s father Prince William’s alma mater Eton College and his mother Kate Middleton’s alma mater Marlborough College.
  • It seems, according to The Daily Mail, that Eton is the choice—and that an announcement is likely imminent.

The debate has raged for years: where will Prince George attend school? Will it be Eton College, the alma mater of his father, Prince William? Or will it be Marlborough College, the alma mater of his mother, Kate Middleton? Or, in a turn of events, will it be neither, with another school stepping in to educate the future king?

According to a widely circulated report by The Daily Mail, “all roads lead to Eton,” which runs more than $84,000 annually in tuition. Eton is “conveniently near the family home in Windsor,” where William, Kate, and kids George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis all live at Adelaide Cottage.

Prince George, Prince William, and Kate Middleton on May 5, 2025.

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A major argument in favor of Marlborough is that it is co-ed, meaning that Charlotte could have joined George (and presumably, in the future, Louis) at school. But a source speaking to The Daily Mail said that there is a “smugness” from Eton about a forthcoming announcement about George’s educational plans, with the insider sharing that the mood was like “‘I know something and the people at Eton know something, but I’m not going to tell you.’ This was after William and Kate visited Eton.”

While no official word has come out on this, the decision was always expected to be made this summer—so an announcement is likely imminent. He will begin school wherever the family chooses in September 2026, when he is 13 years old. He currently attends Lambrook School in Berkshire along with Charlotte and Louis, as well.

Prince George, Kate Middleton, Prince Louis, Prince William, and Princess Charlotte.

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George will turn 12 years old on July 22—perhaps not a milestone outside of royal circles, but for a future king, it’s a landmark year. This year, royal protocol dictates, is reportedly when William and George, who are both heirs to the throne, will no longer be able to travel together via plane, so as to prevent catastrophe to the line of succession should something tragic happen. The Wales family has been known to eschew royal protocol in the past in favor of family unity, so we’ll see what happens—but it remains on the table. George’s exposure to royal engagements will also likely continue to be upped to prepare him for his future role; in May, after all three siblings attended a VE Day parade on May 5, it was only George who joined his parents for a Buckingham Palace tea party after honoring veterans of World War II. It’s expected that George will continue to participate in more and more events like this—with, and sometimes without, his siblings.

Prince William and Prince George on May 5, 2025.

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George attending Eton—and a visit by William and Kate there ahead of the Easter holiday—was “the talk of the school, and of the parents,” Richard Eden of The Daily Mail reported at the time. William and his younger brother Prince Harry attending Eton was a break from royal tradition when Prince Charles and Princess Diana made the decision in the 1990s; Charles, as well as his brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and father Prince Philip, had all been educated at Gordonstoun in Scotland. While William thrived at the all-male boarding school, Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare that he had a tougher time, detailing that Eton was “heaven for brilliant boys,” but could “thus only be purgatory for one very unbrilliant boy.”

Princess Diana, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Prince Charles on September 6, 1995, Prince William’s first day at Eton.

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“The situation became undeniably obvious during my very first French lesson,” Harry continued. “I was astounded to hear the teacher conducting the entire class in rapid, nonstop French. He assumed, for some reason, that we were all fluent.”

He added, “Once or twice I’d confess to a teacher or fellow student that I wasn’t merely in the wrong class but in the wrong location. I was in way, way over my head.”