Princess Charlotte Will Be Fine Without Prince George If He Goes to Boarding School, Royal Experts Say

• Reports have been circulating recently that Prince George (opens in new tab) may change schools this fall and attend a boarding school in Berkshire.
• George turns eight this month and his dad, Prince William, was eight years old when he started attending boarding school at Ludgrove School (opens in new tab) in Berkshire. Some think the young royal will follow suit.
• Royal experts have started to weigh in how the change could impact George's sister, Princess Charlotte, who currently attends school with him at Thomas's Battersea in London. The consensus is that she'll miss her brother, of course, but is an independent leader who will ultimately be fine.

Princess Charlotte (opens in new tab) is going to miss her big brother, Prince George (opens in new tab), if reports that he's gearing up to change schools in the fall turn out to be true—but ultimately, she'll be fine with the change, experts say.

George is turning eight this month, which is significant because that's the same age his dad, Prince William (opens in new tab), was when he started attending boarding school at Ludgrove School in Berkshire. Rumors have been circulating in recent weeks that George may follow suit and begin attending a boarding school in or near Berkshire when school starts back up in the fall.

This would be a big adjustment for George, obviously, but it would also mark a big change for his sister, Charlotte. Right now, both George and Charlotte attend Thomas's Battersea (opens in new tab) in London, which is open to students up to age 13.

Royal experts have begun weighing in on how the change might affect Charlotte, who would presumably remain at Thomas's Battersea (opens in new tab), since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to maintain London as their main home base during the school year even if George begins boarding in the country. Reports have suggested that Prince William and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) may be looking at homes in the Berkshire area as well and that George could end up on a flex boarding plan if he transfers schools, staying with his family when possible and on campus when the Cambridges are traveling or in London.

"Princess Charlotte will of course miss her big brother, as any child would," Gertrude Daly, author of Gert's Royals blog, told the Daily Star. "But she will be fine when Prince George heads off to boarding school. She seems like a very independent child."

Daly added that George would face a much bigger adjustment if he begins boarding (which, yeah, obviously) and that his new classmates would have a lot to get used to as well.

"I would probably be more concerned about Prince George and how he would cope being away from his safety net," Daly said. "Being in with new students who haven’t grown up with a Prince as a classmate and who are used to see Prince George and the Cambridge Family on the news."

Brittani Barger, Deputy Editor of Royal Central, agreed that Charlotte, who is a natural leader, will ultimately adjust well if George changes schools.

"She's very independent and outgoing, so I don't think she needs her brother beside her," she said, according to The Sun. "She may miss not seeing him at school, but she's not going to be upset that she's alone, I don't think. From what we've seen, she's a little leader so I think she will be fine."