The Prince and Princess of Wales’ eldest child George is due to start secondary school in September 2026

he Prince and Princess of Wales’ firstborn son Prince George is facing a big life change – the start of secondary school. George, who currently attends Lambrook School in Berkshire with his siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, is due to change schools in September 2026.

The two front-runners are the all-boys school Eton College in Windsor, where William and his brother Prince Harry went, and the co-educational Marlborough College in Berkshire, the Princess of Wales’ alma mater.

William and Kate are said to be deciding between the two schools, but once they have made their decision, it’s likely they will delay announcing 12-year-old George’s next educational step for a while.

Why the delay?

Melanie Sanderson, Managing Editor of The Good Schools Guide, explained why. “If the Wales family runs true to form, they will announce Prince George’s secondary school at the eleventh hour, possibly as late as September 2026,” Melanie told HELLO!

“They understand that the school itself, as well as George’s new peer group, will fall under intense scrutiny as soon as it is revealed and will probably want to minimise this, allowing the young royal to transition to his new school with as little fanfare as possible.”

Prince George is rumoured to be going to Eton College, where his father William went

As for which school George will be enrolled in, Melanie argued: “I believe Eton is the most likely choice for Prince George. In our most recent review, we describe it as ‘traditional, radical, expectation-busting and packed with confident boys with nary a hint of entitlement’. To me, this encompasses all the values we are told are important to this generation of royals.”

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Prince William pictured on his first day at Eton College in September 1995. His choice of school was announced three months before

The timing of previous announcements

Looking back at William and Kate’s previous family announcements, they did indeed wait until the eleventh hour to confirm their children’s schooling. Back in 2022 when the Waleses were moving from London to Windsor, they only announced that George, Charlotte and Louis would go to Lambrook School two weeks before the academic term started.

At the time, the statement from the palace read: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have today announced that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will attend Lambrook School in Berkshire from September 2022. Their Royal Highnesses are hugely grateful to Thomas’s Battersea where George and Charlotte have had a happy start to their education since 2017 and 2019 respectively and are pleased to have found a school for all three of their children which shares a similar ethos and values to Thomas’s.”

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George, Charlotte and Louis on their first day at Lambrook School in September 2022. The palace only announced their new school two weeks before

Looking back to when George started going to nursery, Westacre Montessori School in Norfolk, his parents also only announced the news in December 2015, one month before he started in January 2016. The nursery was close to William and Kate’s home at the time, Anmer Hall, which they still use for holidays, and was more importantly located on a private road.

Similarly, when William was preparing to attend Eton College back in 1995, his parents Charles and Diana only announced the move in June, three months before William started in September.

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George started at Thomas’s Battersea in September 2017. The choice of school was announced six months prior and caused a lot of hype and fanfare

As for Thomas’s Battersea, however, William and Kate actually announced George’s new school in March 2017, six months before he started attending Reception. Cue the hype and fanfare around the private London school, which the Waleses are perhaps hoping to avoid this time around.