Prince William and Princess Kate Will Likely Avoid Announcing One Major Decision Until the "Eleventh Hour" to Avoid "Intense Scrutiny"
The Prince and Princess of Wales will be making a big choice for their family in 2026.
The past year has been a period of huge change for Prince William, Princess Kate and their children. The Princess of Wales is now in remission from cancer after a difficult 2024, and the family has moved from Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to Forest Lodge, a larger Georgian mansion nearby. But another new beginning is imminent as Prince George wraps up his final year at Lambrook School in July and begins secondary school in September 2026.
While royal fans have been waiting for the past year to find out where the 12-year-old future King will attend, Melanie Sanderson, Managing Editor of The Good Schools Guide, told Hello! that it's unlikely William and Kate will make any "fanfare" about their choice.
"If the Wales family runs true to form, they will announce Prince George's secondary school at the eleventh hour, possibly as late as September 2026," Sanderson told the magazine.
Prince George, Princess Kate, Prince Louis, Prince William and Princess Charlotte are seen on the kids' first day at Lambrook School in 2022.
Prince George is pictured on his first day of school at Thomas's Battersea in 2017.
When they moved to Windsor in 2022, the Prince and Princess of Wales did not announce where Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis would be going to school until just two weeks ahead of their first day. And when Prince William entered secondary school himself in 1995, Prince Charles and Princess Diana didn't release the news until June, making it unlikely William and Kate would announce their school choice until next summer.
"They understand that the school itself, as well as George's new peer group, will fall under intense scrutiny as soon as it is revealed and will probably want to minimize this, allowing the young royal to transition to his new school with as little fanfare as possible," Sanderson said.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be deciding between Eton College, where Prince William and Prince Harry attended, and Princess Kate's alma mater, Marlborough College. Even though the so-called battle of the boarding schools is unlikely to be settled until later next year, Sanderson said that for her part, she thinks Eton will come out victorious.
"I believe Eton is the most likely choice for Prince George," she shared. "In our most recent review, we describe it as 'traditional, radical, expectation-busting and packed with confident boys with nary a hint of entitlement.' To me, this encompasses all the values we are told are important to this generation of royals."
