The Real Reason Prince George Might Have a ‘Tougher’ Time at William’s Alma Mater Where Harry Had a ‘Difficult Path’
Boarding schools sound hard as a general concept. And when you’re the one day going to be king, the expectations placed on you probably make it a lot more complicated. That’s what’s facing Prince George as he prepares to go to secondary school. But is he attending Eton College like his father, Prince William, did?
There has been no announcement as to whether Prince George, who currently attends Lambrook School with his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, is set to attend Eton College as his father, Prince William, and his uncle Prince Harry did. But if he and his parents do decide he should go, it will undoubtedly be a “tougher” experience for him, royal expert Jennie Bond told The Mirror.
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“When William was 13, he began his secondary education at Eton College,” she said. “Both his parents were at his side but, by then, they were officially separated.”
Prince William studied at Eton from 1995 until 2000, before heading off to college at the University of St Andrews, which is where he met his future wife, Kate Middleton.
“William and his brother [Prince Harry] had witnessed the painful breakup of the marriage over many years. So, in a way, being at boarding school became a haven for William. Things are very different for George, who has been brought up in a household full of love and harmony,” Bond added.
Back in the day, Princess Diana was worried Prince Harry would have it harder than Prince William, according to her royal butler, Paul Burrell. “Even when it came to school, [Diana] worried that Harry would constantly be compared to his brother and judged by William’s standards,” Burrell told Casino.org, for Express.co.uk “When they went to Eton, Diana didn’t want Harry to attend Eton; she knew that he would be compared to William, who had gone before him.”
“William is much brighter, and he excelled; Harry wasn’t and didn’t. And so, she knew it would be a difficult path for Harry,” Burrell also said.
Prince Harry wrote about his time at Eton College in his memoir Spare. “They’d [teachers] always say the same thing: ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be all right. And don’t forget you always have your brother here!’ But I wasn’t the one forgetting. Willy told me to pretend I didn’t know him,” he wrote.
Reportedly, William was the popular kid at school. “For the last two years, he explained, Eton had been his sanctuary. No kid brother tagging along, pestering him with questions, pushing up on his social circle. He was forging his own life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up.”
Whether this will end up being George’s experience or not, Bond speculated it will be more complicated if he does end up choosing Eton. “So it might be tougher for him to suddenly find himself living away at boarding school – if that is, indeed, the decision his parents have made. But I’m sure it will have been a family decision — and not one simply imposed on the young prince.”
There’s still a little time, but we will find out one way or another soon enough.
