Prince George Visited His Dad's Alma Mater

Prince George is turning 10 years old next month, the first of the Wales children to hit the double digits. This is the age when his parents need to make certain decisions about his future education, namely whether or not he will go to boarding school as his father Prince William and uncle Prince Harry once did or if he’ll continue on at day school. While the young boy just started a new school with his 8-year-old sister Princess Charlotte and 5-year-old brother Prince Louis last September, a recent outing he took with his parents hints that he might be making a big shift again.

The future king visited Eton College with mom Kate Middleton and dad Prince William earlier this week, the all-boys boarding school both Prince William and Prince Harry attended when they were around his age. The timing of the visit is important as students planning on going to Eton College need to register before June 30 in the year they turn 10, which is just around the corner for Prince George. The family wandered the grounds of the illustrious institution, which houses approximately 1,350 students and costs a whopping $20,000 per term to attend.

Prince William went off to Eton College in 1995 when he was 13 years old, becoming the first senior royal to attend the school located in Berkshire, England. Close to Prince George’s current school of Lambrook School, and perhaps more importantly, close to the family’s home at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor. Which could make the transition to boarding school easier for Prince George.

When Prince William was a student at Eton, he reportedly struggled with homesickness that was assuaged by weekly lunches with his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, according to royal historian Robert Lacey. “The 13-year-old was in a fragile place — alone and just starting boarding at the elite Eton College across the river from Windsor,” Lacey wrote, per People. “Concerned for her grandson's emotional state, the Queen invited William up to join her when Eton boys went home for the weekend.”

Neither Prince William nor Kate Middleton have shared their son’s future educational plans, and certainly the couple are both very hands-on parents, so a boarding school might be difficult for them. Perhaps they are keeping their options open. And letting their son decide how he feels about it all.