The Strange and Unexpected Rules Prince George Will Need to Follow When He Joins Eton College

The list of punishments is extensive.

Prince George wears a navy suit with a white shirt and baby blue tie to attend Trooping the Colour 2026 at Buckingham Palace
(Image credit: Brett Cove/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Following the confirmation that Prince George is set to attend Eton College later this year, it's being reported that the young royal will need to follow numerous rules at the institution. As Eton is his dad Prince William's alma mater, George has likely had a head start regarding some of the most surprising rules and traditions. However, it's clear that the future King will also have a lot of learning to do in September.

As reported by Hello! magazine, Eton College is stepped in history, meaning it "has as much in common with Hogwarts as the real world." The outlet continued, "Eton has accrued so many traditions since it was founded in 1440 that it has its own lexicon of rewards and punishments that give the impression of an impenetrable club."

Calling some of the school's rules "arcane," the publication discussed the "colors test," which Prince George would need to complete upon arrival. The test will require the future monarch to "memorize the location of school buildings and the official colors of each of its 25 boarding houses," Hello! shared.

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Prince William Eton first day

Prince William at Eton College.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As for the rules Prince George will need to abide by, there will be a plethora to remember. For instance, if George is late to class, he will be forced to write his name in something called the "Tardy Book," presumably to highlight his lack of appropriate timekeeping.

Per Hello!, "Other Eton punishments include Lines (copying out 100 hexameters of Latin poetry), a Georgic (copying 500 hexameters), and Chores, a form of unpaid labor such as weeding a housemaster's garden."

Prince Louis wears a navy blazer with gold buttons and a white shirt with a baby blue tie, which matched brother Prince George and mom Princess Kate's Trooping the Colour outfits

If George is late to class, he will be forced to write his name in something called the "Tardy Book."

(Image credit: Getty Images/Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Basically, it seems as though Prince George will have his work cut out for him at Eton College, despite his status as the heir apparent.

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.