Prince George Marks His Final First Day of School at Lambrook Ahead of Major Change
The future King entered his last year of primary school on September 3.


Summer vacation has come to an end, and like many children around the world, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis headed back to school on September 3. Prince William and Princess Kate reserve first day photos for when their children start a new school, so there was no social media fanfare on Wednesday morning. However, that didn't make this particular first day of school any less momentous for one family member.
Prince George, 12, is starting his final year at Lambrook School before heading off to secondary school next September. Lambrook is located 15 minutes away from the family's Windsor home, Adelaide Cottage, and educates children from preschool age up through year eight, which George started on Wednesday. In 2026, the future King will make his way to a new school—and exactly where that will be has been a highly debated topic in the past year.
Sending George, Charlotte and Louis to a co-educational school is an unusual move for the Royal Family, as author Sally Bedell Smith recently told People. "That chimes with William wanting to do things in a more modern way, putting all three children in the same school," she said. "It’s a new direction—groundbreaking for the royal family."
Prince George entered his final year at Lambrook School on September 3.
The Wales family met the headmaster of Lambrook School on their first day in 2022.
It's been suggested that the Prince and Princess of Wales would like to keep their children together for secondary school, too. The Wales family is said to have visited Kate's alma mater, Marlborough College, and in January, the Mail on Sunday reported that all three kids were set to attend the co-ed school in Wiltshire, England.
"Parents have been talking about nothing else and discussions have really ramped up in recent weeks but security is obviously a massive consideration," an insider told the publication. If he does attend Marlborough, Prince George will become the first future monarch to attend a co-educational secondary school. However, per multiple royal sources, it's more likely Prince George will end up splitting from his siblings and heading to all-boys prep school Eton College in the future.
In June, the Mail on Sunday changed gears, reporting that Eton—where Prince William and Prince Harry were educated—is now the reported choice for Prince George. A source told the outlet, "all roads lead to Eton," adding that after the Waleses visited the school, the air around Eton "was like, 'I know something and the people at Eton know something, but I'm not going to tell you.'"
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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.