Thirty-one years after Prince William arrived at Eton College with Princess Diana, then-Prince Charles and Prince Harry beside him, Prince George is about to make the same school transition at the same age.
The 13-year-old will begin at Eton this September after four years at Lambrook School near Windsor. Kensington Palace confirmed in June that George would follow his father and uncle Prince Harry to the all-boys boarding school.
The timing now makes the family parallel unusually close. William’s first day at Eton was September 6, 1995, when cameras recorded him signing the school’s entrance book and posing with his family. Eton’s official term calendar lists September 9 as the date boys return for the 2026 Michaelmas term.
George’s move also ends the period when he, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis shared the same school. The three siblings arrived at Lambrook together in 2022, producing one of the royal family’s more recognizable first-day photographs before George’s education now takes a separate path.
George, Charlotte and Louis Had One School Start Together
William and Kate accompanied all three children to Lambrook for a settling-in afternoon on September 7, 2022, one day before classes officially began. George and Louis wore matching white shirts and navy shorts, while Charlotte wore a blue gingham dress as the family approached headmaster Jonathan Perry.
The move marked the first time George, Charlotte and Louis attended the same school. A new PEOPLE retrospective places that photograph alongside generations of similar royal school arrivals, from King Charles and Prince William to George and Charlotte.
George already had one heavily photographed school debut behind him. William walked him into Thomas’s Battersea on September 7, 2017, while Kate stayed home because she was experiencing severe morning sickness during her pregnancy with Louis. Charlotte joined the same school two years later, arriving with both parents and George on September 5, 2019.
William Arrived at Eton With Diana, Charles and Harry
William was also 13 when he started at Eton on September 6, 1995. Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles, who were separated at the time, both accompanied him, along with younger brother Prince Harry.
Photographs from the day show William with housemaster Dr. Andrew Gailey and signing Eton’s registration book while his parents and brother watched. PEOPLE reports that George is likely to encounter many of the same school traditions when he arrives.
William’s move to Eton also broke from the educational path followed by his father. King Charles attended Gordonstoun in Scotland, while William went to the school near Windsor that had also been attended by members of Diana’s family. Harry followed William to Eton three years later.
George Is Due at Eton This Week
Eton College’s official term dates list September 9 as the return date for boys for the 2026 Michaelmas term. That puts George’s next major school milestone just days after the 31st anniversary of William’s own first day there.
George leaves behind Lambrook, where Charlotte, 11, and Louis, 8, continue to attend. Reuters reported when Kensington Palace announced the move that Eton is close to Windsor Castle, keeping George’s boarding school relatively near the family’s Windsor home.
Whether his arrival produces another formal royal first-day photograph has not been announced. What is already certain is the family symmetry: George will walk into Eton at 13, three decades after his father began the same chapter.