- Kate Middleton and Prince William's oldest son, Prince George (opens in new tab), will turn 7 on July 22.
- He's currently attending Thomas’s Battersea school in London, alongside his younger sister Princess Charlotte (opens in new tab).
- But royals are typically sent to boarding school at age 8, which isn't far away for George.
Kate Middleton and Prince William (opens in new tab) have a tricky decision to make in the not too distant future: whether to send their eldest son, Prince George, to boarding school, or to keep him enrolled in his current day school, Thomas's Battersea in London. As OK! reports (opens in new tab), royals are typically sent to boarding school at age 8, and George will turn 7 on July 22, meaning the Cambridges don't have long to decide.
Both Prince William and Prince Harry were full-time boarders at Ludgrove School in Berkshire, England, a prep school for boys aged 8 to 13. "William loved it at Ludgrove, as did his brother Harry. They both boarded full-time but Diana would visit at weekends," royal biographer Ingrid Seward told (opens in new tab) OK! "It’s a super friendly school so it could be a good choice for George. He might then follow his father to Eton College for his secondary education. I doubt the royals will have to go on any waiting lists, so they won’t need to rush their decision."
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The Cambridges might break with royal tradition, however, when it comes to sending their children to boarding school. "Kate and William are modern parents and will weigh up the decision very carefully," Seward said. "I think they’ll wait to see how the children’s personalities develop, and take into consideration whether or not they would be happy to live away from home. Having experienced terrible trauma in his own childhood, William is very tuned in to his children’s mental health."
Seward added, "I think William and Kate’s view will be, if the children are happy in their school, why change things?"
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Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.
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