Back in June, the Daily Mail reported that curious story about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge house-hunting in Berkshire and how they’ve also been looking at schools in the area for Prince George and their other kids. William and Prince Harry famously entered boarding school at age eight, which is George’s age now. Will and Harry went to Ludgrove School in Berkshire, and then both entered Eton from there when they got older. Eton being more of a “high school” or prep school. For years now, there’s been talk about whether Kate really wants to adhere to that “royal tradition” of sending her children away to boarding school at the age of eight. But it looks like it will probably happen… but maybe not this year? But Us Weekly says that Will and Kate are already talking to George about boarding schools:
Not off the table. Prince William and Duchess Kate aren’t opposed to their 8-year-old son, Prince George, attending boarding school.
“Kate and William are open to sending George to boarding school in the future and have already checked out a few, but they feel 8 is a little young and want to wait until he’s slightly older,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “George going to school is a decision the Cambridges will make as a family. They’d never force George to go unless he wants to and they feel it’s right.”
The little one has heard his parents’ stories about boarding school, which he thinks sounds “super fun.”
The insider went on to tell Us that while the future king is “keen” on the idea of going to school away from home, “he’s settled at St Thomas’ Battersea and has lots of friends there.” George has been attending the school since 2017, and he is “one of the most popular boys in the class.”
Hm. I wonder if Us Weekly might actually be onto something? Perhaps the reason why Will and Kate haven’t confirmed anything thus far about George possibly attending a boarding school this fall is because he’s not going to. They’re going to wait a year or two, possibly. Maybe they’re still working out their fancy separation and Kate hasn’t quite established a residence in Berkshire, or maybe they honestly aren’t ready to pack up their eight-year-old and send him to boarding school! I wasn’t ready for boarding school at that age! Lord.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Kensington Palace.
“One of the most popular boys in the class”. Hmmm I wonder why that might be…. Poor kid will never know if someone is a true friend or just trying to suck up to him.
Yup. Fame and fortune have that ugly side effect and that’s one of them.
I watched the first couple episodes of the Prince on HBO and this totally tracks with that portrayal, at least. “Most popular boy at school” but all the other kids are a little afraid of him and feel uncomfortable. It’s all I could think about when I read the article and I thought it was kind of an unfortunate thing to say when that show is out right now lampooning the idea of any royal’s true popularity.
BTW, even though the episodes are only 13 minutes long, I could not make it past 2.5 episodes. They’re horribly unfunny and they’re satirizing all the wrong things. Camilla is basically a shy and silent pet that Charles keeps around who is totally afraid to speak to anyone at all. They literally feed her sugar cubes like a horse. The Queen is a combo of vulgar and senile. Harry is so stupid he doesn’t know what a refrigerator is. And Meghan is a struggling actress who can’t even get a bit part on Young Sheldon. And there’s some scenes that are just absolutely disturbing in their grotesqueness: a race of deformed, naked, human-like bakers that live in a dungeon under the palace? It’s just not funny at all.
why are people sooo determined to give this apparently unfunny show free publicity? i can’t go anywhere on the internet this week without somebody raging about this thing that most of us will never see.
this post above isn’t even about the damn show, i’m baffled.
@taris, “so determined”?? It’s an unfunny show, yes, but why are you surprised at peoples’ reaction to it? It’s outrageously off, totally unbalanced and psychologically questionable…of COURSE it’s in the forefront of the minds of those who read stories of the RF and object to the villification of H&M and the appalling lack of awareness of the rest of them. So what, you’ve seen people “raging” about it: what do you want, everyone just stays silent according to your social measuring stick?! Any post to do with George is naturally going to bring up that ridiculous show.
@AmyToo, I downloaded it and commend you for having the strength of stomach to watch 2.5 episodes…I didn’t get past a few minutes. A foul-mouthed and senile Queen Liz isn’t funny…
also it is not flattering to the other children in the class to label one “the most popular”.
My 7yo daughter has started asking to attend sleep away camp for one week. We’ve created a long list of self sufficiency tasks that need to be accomplished before I will even consider such a thing…and that’s just one week! I can’t even imagine a world where shipping an 8yo off to boarding school this is acceptable.
And we wonder why the royals are such wackadoodles
100% !!!!!!!!
Your list reminds me of the episode of “American Housewife” where the Katie character and her husband are appalled at the lack of “life skills” of their oldest daughter (a talented, but very “dim” character), and create a list of 80 things she has to master before she is allowed to go away to college.
That’s where I got the idea… it’s actually brilliant in its simplicity. She learns some valuable stuff and success or failure is up to her. I highly recommend it, esp for mothers who struggle with the helicopter/ tiger mom thing.
Again- sending an eight year old to boarding school is monstrous. If that make all the aristocrats and rich of the western world monsters – so be it. That is what they are.
In high school- fine.
At EIGHT- it’s basically child services taking the kid because they are terrible parents.
Because only terrible parents would think – well he’s 8, our job is basically done. Let’s let teachers and staff and rules and the lord of the flies finish the parenting job.
Ariel, I support your view and words
Heartbreakingly monstrous. As Rai said above – no wonder the Brits are “wackadoodles”!
I wonder if they’re going to keep him at Thomas’s a few more years and then send him and Charlotte away together? (I just typed out Scarlett thanks to the other post lol) Or if the Berkshire house hasn’t been made ready for Kate yet.
Or they’re going with a Berkshire boarding school this year, with him as a day boarder living with Granny Carole, with lengthy visits from Kate?
I could also see a Berkshire day/boarding school/move as a trial separation under the guise of ‘being close to devastated QEII’.
As conservative and traditional William and Kate seem to be, I think boarding school is being considered. I think two factors may be delaying that decision, George’s age and the pandemic. They may think he is too young to sent off to boarding school and they may want to keep George in a known and safe environment until the pandemic is over.
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if in the fall we al of a sudden learn that george is in boarding school. And the press will act surprised and slightly disappointed that they didn’t get a heads up
Nah, William and Kate gave up any right to privacy when they agreed to play the media game. If they decide to send George to boarding school, they will inform the royal rota.
I don’t think they want the punishment that would be inflicted upon their heads if they sent George to boarding school without letting the rota know.
And Maybe KP just threw out an idea to give the RR something to talk about. A distraction from Rose bushes and racists. Those 2 arent against using that kid as a human shield. They trotting him out to football when H was in town without his family.
You’re still just a baby at 8 years old. Boarding school is a terrible thing to do to a little kid like that. You’re giving random strangers the right to raise your child in his most important and vulnerable years. It’s a cruel and grotesque practice. Can’t imagine how they rationalize it.
I totally agree. The only reason I have known any kids here in the US to go to boarding school that young is that they are “troubled” and going to a therapeutic boarding school where they are going to live in the country and camp and fish and ride horses or whatever.
There are also a few boarding schools for kids who are super smart or very gifted musicians, etc. But I think those are mostly for slightly older kids, 14+.
He heard his parents’ stories and thought it sounded “super fun”? I thought Kate claimed she was bullied at school.
She falsely claimed it, as part of the ruse to get a sympathy entrance to the sister school to Eton the following year.
My son is 8, I can’t imagine doing it. Why? It’s not like any of the royals are so academically gifted that most neighborhood schools aren’t challenging enough. I mean, I don’t know about George (but they aren’t even arguing this angle, so I’m guessing no), but we do know that was true for Charles, William, and Harry. Why else would you send your child away when you’re rich and have all the space and help you could ever need to do pick ups ans drop offs and such?
Agree, my daughter is 8 and I could never. She’s definitely grown and matured a lot in the last year, but she is nowhere near being able to live away from home and not have that daily love, support and guidance. It seems so cruel.
I taught 3rd grade for 30 yrs. Kids start the year 7 1/2-8 yrs old and end the year 8 1/2-9 yrs old. While there is usually a lot of growth/maturity in this year (esp. developmentally), emotionally *most* are still little kids! They want a cuddle and approval. Most certainly don’t have the maturity to navigate the world on their own at this age!
And while I know, at a boarding school there will be teachers, head masters, and house “mothers”, it’s not the same as being able to run to your mom if you hurt yourself, if someone hurts your feelings/bullies you, to get guidance on how to handle a problem, or if you get scared by a thunder storm…. 8 is still *way* too young IMO.
As a parent there is no way I would send my kid off to boarding school. An 8 year old is still basically a baby in my eyes..
Not only that but in a pandemic where 8 year old children are not vaccinated? Boarding school sounds like a large petri dish that the delta variant would tear through. No matter what the RF says, I don’t believe they would risk a future monarch’s health in a pandemic.
Kate wasn’t raised like William, and her family seems close, so I could imagine her pushing back at the idea of sending George off at such a young age.
“ When her family returned to Berkshire in 1986, she was enrolled aged four at St Andrew’s School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire. She boarded part-weekly at St Andrew’s in her later years.”
Just so you know st Andrews school is for boys&girls aged 3 to 13. And when she attended Marlborough College (age 13) she boarded fully. So boarding school really isn’t a foreign concept for kate and seeing the circles she grew up in, i don’t think she’s opposed to the idea too much.
Holy H#ll… Boarding school for an age 3 baby???!!!!! WTF??? That sounds like a state-sanctioned orphanage!
@TheOG, I would sincerely hope the boarding school option is not done for the really young ones. The idea of sending a preschooler or kindergarten-aged child away to boarding school is beyond sickening.
Carole wanted her children to marry up especially her daughters. And apparently wanted Kate to be available for William’s calls and have part time work. Kate was supported for years until she go the ring. Pippa also was urged to “marry up.” I don’t think this is the average upbringing for young women these days.
Carole has totally screwed up values and Mike Middleton must be the silent partner is that home. What kind of woman raises her daughters to expect a man to financially take care of her?
@Bess, we know Carole is a hot mess but I keep wondering what kind of person Mike Middleton is to just sit back and condone her screwing up their daughters (and son) in this way. He gets the full-on side-eye from me too for going along with all of this nonsense.
Maybe Mike is an abused spouse or completely absentee parent? At any rate, it looks like he checked out of the marriage years ago.
As I said yesterday I doubt USWeekly have any genuine sources into the Cambridges. But if this is true, I’ll honestly be very surprised. I know that it’s normal for the upper classes to send kids off to boarding school but W&K’s entire image is how hands on parents they are compared to previous generations, how “normal” they are, how they can’t work because of the kids’ etc etc so sending them to boarding school that young is the opposite of that. It’ll be interesting how they still justify the image of being better than the previous generations in terms of warmth and affection but still acting like the previous generations.
What I think is going to happen is one of two things: he stays at Thomas’s for a few more years and then boards (maybe directly to Eton or wherever)
OR he starts at a boarding school maybe next year but Kate moves close to said school (ahem Berkshire ahem). so he either boards, but with Kate nearby, or (what I think is more likely) is that he goes as a day student for the first year or so and that gives Kate the ironclad excuse to be away from William – she’s helping George transition, she’s such a hands on mum, she would never just throw her baby to the wolves of boarding school like Diana did, etc.
I’m not sure what the second option means for Charlotte and Louis though.
I can see them do option 2 and have George board for a year, have Kate move closer and say she’s helping him transition and all that. Would definitely keep in line with her hands on mother image. Also does keep her away with William. And then move Charlotte and Louis to schools in Berkshire so if anyone does say “Okay George is boarding, come back to London.”, she can go “I’ve got two other kids!!! Gotta do the same thing for them too!”. And considering Louis is 3, it gives her about 6 more years of “I’m looking after my kids you know!!!” and she gets to stay in Berkshire for at least 6 years. And after that, if the kids go to Eton or another school (for example Charlotte won’t be able to go to Eton) then she can say “I want to be close to the kids so that they can visit easily on the weekends” so that’s actually 15 years of potentially staying in Berkshire full time
Only issue with this is the queen and Charles say you get funded to work, so stay at home to nurse your children full time in not in this cards for you. Off you go ,back to pretending to be keen queening in London.
I think it’s the second option w/ George is going to be day student for a year. Charlotte is also will be raising according to monarchy rules. I think Kate will only raise Louis in the way she wants – after the separation George and Charlotte will stay w/ Will (read: the royal family) and Louis will stay with Kate.
@Over it, I guess Charles is not so in love with Kate, so if this is the first step for them to divorce – I think he is ready to fund her and her laziness.
Louis would not be allowed to be raised non traditionally. He is the second son and traditionally second sons had military careers. I don’t think Louis will be the exception to this. All of the children should get University educations
I see option two, with the younger two kids coming along to Berkshire and starting new day schools there. Excuse will be Kate being with the kids. We’ll be told William is there too, in a supportive capacity to the Queen who needs him so much. They end up in some Crown Estate property, like Frogmore Cottage. Except William is never there, this is the prelim to a formal separation.
8 is too young for this but this is royal tradition. Last time i check so many sugary articles on how keen only one who is keeping up royal tradition. Kate and carole jenner will never allow george in some fancy private school. Kate and carole are more into blue blood tradition. Most blue blood goes to boarding school where they develop lifelong friends with old money. They dont like new money which is private school. He will definitely go to Eton like William. Plus private school in uk is more diverse . We know how william is racist to his own nephew and niece. No way in the hell he will allow it. In those traditional boarding school there will be less diverse and more old money.
This is one of the reason where yorks dont have that much socialite friends in uk or wouldn’t land men with titles. They study in swiss school but these uk boarding schools are very inclusive . That’s why kitty spencer doesnt have any clout in these because she grew up in south africa where Chelsea Davy who is old money went to these type schools and run in Harry’s circle .
The Yorks did not attend Swiss schools. They attended various schools in the Berkshire/Windsor area. Beatrice went to St Mary’s Ascot from age 11 IIRC and Eugenie boarded at Marlborough from age 13. They have socialite friends as does Kitty Spencer. She’s best friends with a Marchioness and has other aristo friends too like Lady Jemima Herbert and others.
Sorry yorks were planning to send to swiss school. Though they dont have same set of aristocratic friends like William and harry. Kitty spencer might be friends with blue blood , she cant land a guy with title in uk. Surely kitty cant find any guy like rose and her sister . There are many title single guys in uk . Euegiene doesnt have that many aristocracy in her wedding. Mostly are wannabe uk celebrities.
It’s probably not a case that she can’t find a guy with a title it’s just that most guys with titles have the money tied up in assets/family assets as opposed to liquid cash that Kitty wants/needs to fund her jet set lifestyle.
@Hanna, Kitty “can’t land a guy with a UK title”???? Holy cow, is that what you deem her, or any other girl like her, to be limited to?! She has successfully shat on every trope her upbringing is formed by, and seems happy in doing it. Bit archaic and oppressive, assuming every girl in that circle has to “land a guy with a title.” Sheesh…
@Booyah, uh, no. Kitty hasn’t “shattered every trope her upbringing is informed by.” She married an extremely wealthy, much older man. She doesn’t work for a living like normal people do. She cashes in on the connections afforded to her by that exact same aristocratic upbringing to make a living as a model and instagram influencer, although now she doesn’t have to do that too.
And while she didn’t “land a guy with a title,” the idea that this is not the ideal expectation and life path for women of her social background is laughable. They all want to do exactly that, but there aren’t enough men with titles + money to go around, so they settle. And it’s not that this is all of what these women are limited to (although nice job calling a 30 year old WOMAN a “girl”), but this is what they, and their exceptionally misogynistic society, limit THEMSELVES to. Kitty Spencer is absolutely not different in this regard.
Can we please not “girl boss!”/”girl power!” Kitty Spencer, please? That’s even more insulting to women across the world than anything else. She’s not a cool trail blazer, she’s just an upper class twit like the rest of ’em.
The Yorks were meant to study in a Swiss school, starting at 11 or 12. Fergie received permission from QEII to move to Switzerland with the girls. Her ex Paddy McN was providing a free house for all of them to live in. She and Beatrice were going to move first, followed by Eugenie the next year. There was a scandal around the school which ended the idea of them moving.
I guess I’ll never be royal because this seems so unimaginable to me. I have a six year old, and almost every day I think about one day he’ll be grown and making his way in the world, but for now we can cuddle and I can smell the sweet smell of the top of his head. And this is after being in lockdown in California all year – isolated with just each other 24/7 with no family nearby. Now with the Delta variant, this may go on and on, and even STILL, the idea of shuffling off a youngster to boarding school seems so horrible.
Every kid is different, but 8 is so young! I could not have been separated from my family at that age.
The fact that these speculative stories keep popping up is IMO an indication that the Cambridge’s haven’t told the press where George’s is going to school in September and they are fishing for information. The part about Kate and William telling George how fun boarding was don’t ring true. Kate didn’t board at 8 and there have been numerous stories in previous years that William had a very difficult transition to boarding at 8.
My husband’s mother was the child of a British colonial administrator in what was then called Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. She was sent to boarding school back in England when she was 7. That experience so traumatized her that she was an emotional mess and unable to be a true mother to her son. The effects have were handed down to her son who has trouble with basic emotional communication. Boarding school for children pre-high school creates long lasting scars and intergenerational trauma. These “traditions” need to go.
I cannot even imagine how horrible it was. Even collage kids suffer so what chance has a seven or eight year old have. I think, male or female, you need a good right hook and be able to physically defend yourself from bullies and sexual predator’s before living among other ‘kids’. In a perfect world kids in boarding school would learn to be self sufficient but it’s far from a perfect world.
My husband went to boarding school since it was easier for him to deal with the aftermath of his parents’ divorce. Who- lives -where is easier to answer when it’s just on holidays.
I have no children and zero maternal instinct, but I would think that, along with being too young, the parents might want to spend more time watching him grow up. Children grow and change so quickly – it would be weird to basically send him away at 8 and get him back at 21, even accounting for holidays.
I cannot understand how any parents can send their little ones away to g*d d***d boarding school! Eight is such a baby still. I could never have suffered such a separation between me and my son when he was 8 years old. Children need their mums and dads.
Same. I would not be parted from my 8yo.
I am a boarding school kid. I went when I was 11 as I ended up graduating from HS at 15. I adored it. Now I went to a boarding school that was only about 10 miles from my home so I had that safety net. I think it provides a lot of confidence for girls. I never had an issue speaking my mind or fighting for my place once I reached the collegiate level. With that said, It was a school that was 9-12 grade and I do think that 8 would have been too young.
IMSA by any chance?
Me too. Loved it. And being at an all girls school really helped develop confidence and expectation of being taken seriously.
Dear God, what is the rush?
There’s a school in Wales that seems popular with European royal, two current princesses are set to attend.
Eugenie and Beatrice have been present at a number of weddings of European royalty so I think they’re doing fine.
I did some research and wonder if some of William’s nastiness comes from “Boarding School Syndrome.” Same with Prince Charles. There’s a Website directed at survivors, with documentary links.
Weird that Kate, with her early years emphasis, doesn’t get this. ” Children become self-reliant, cut off their vulnerability from a young age, and asking for help can be one of the hardest things that an adult ex-boarders can do.”
Harry has more charm than William and is much better at sports, so he may have fit in and have been more resilient. Also, he didn’t have the isolation that comes with being the future king.
Boarding School Symptoms include:
Depression
Relationship Difficulties
Parenting Difficulties
Fear of Intimacy
Shame and guilt
Emotional numbness
Hyper-vigilance
Low self esteem and confidence
Low levels of self care
Workaholism
Burn out
An inability to relax
Isolation
Trauma
Sexual Problems
Fear of Groups.
https://ameliawhitecounselling.com/boarding-school-survivors/?utm_source=pocket_mylist
One of the things that stuck out to me in Tina Brown’s book on Diana was that she was essentially an empty-nester after William and Harry went off to boarding school. She’d only see them on weekends, if that, and her time with them wound up being split with Charles after their divorce. Tina Brown mentioned that it was hard on Diana, because she was an empty-nester at a really young age, and it was a very isolating experience overall for her.
Considering the state of the Cambridge marriage, I wonder if this is a similar issue for Kate as well? I think Kate definitely leans on her children as a huge source of emotional support for herself, particularly now, and she relies on them to maintain an image of how busy she is. It helps her to not think about what’s going on with the rest of her life. Plus, having her children around means she can cosplay as a humble little middle class “mum of 3” just going along for the daily grind of doing the school run, queuing up for coffee with the other parents, and not doing much else.
I would honestly think that the hesitancy to send the kids away to boarding school would be in this context. All things considered, W&K are already living separate lives, pretty much. I think it’s Kate that doesn’t want to let go, or at least wants to go somewhere she can be close to her kids, even if they are at boarding school, bc Kate doesn’t want to be bored and alone. And of course, neither William nor Kate want to be left with no explanation or excuse for why they aren’t more productive members of the RF.
Bc really, without at least the semblance of a facade of herself as the “busy mum of 3”, what would Kate have going for her anyway? If her kids go off to boarding school, and essentially become self-sufficient enough to function on her own, what would she be able to represent herself as to the press? Ordinarily, she’d have to do the work of running the variety of estates that she’s the functional owner of, and make sure she’s keeping social engagements, but without either of those two things to do, and without any semblance of actual meaningful work in public service, wtf else would she have?
I agree with you, A. Considering that Kate seems to have few friends and most likely spends a lot of her free time working out and or shopping, her children are probably THE main social focus of her life as well as her connection to keeping her status. If her eldest, the heir, is sent away to boarding school, only to be seen on weekends, questions will be asked about what the heck she’s doing with all that free time and why she isn’t working more. Especially if she has an army of nannies, housekeepers etc at her disposal.