The Prince of Wales has confirmed that Prince George is sometimes boarding at Lambrook, the private school all three of his children attend near Ascot in Berkshire.
Prince William's Heart Radio Interview
Prince William made the revelation on Friday during an interview on Heart radio's breakfast show presented by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden. The heir to the throne began his appearance by confessing he was not a morning person and how at this time he would be doing the school run with Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, as their elder brother George, 12, is already sometimes boarding at Lambrook.
School Run Chaos
He spoke of the 'chaos' of school runs, explaining how eight-year-old Louis, in particular, has a habit of leaving fingerprints from his jam sandwiches in the car. 'He'll leave jam fingerprints throughout the car which is really helpful,' William explained. Speaking to his family on the show, he said: 'Charlotte and Louis, because George is boarding last night, Charlotte and Louis if you're listening, make sure you're on time please, make sure you're not fighting over who listens to what, this morning.'
It is unclear how often George boards at Lambrook, where fees for the year cost up to £10,669. In September, the young Prince will be moving to secondary education, although it is still unknown which school the Prince and Princess of Wales will pick for their firstborn.
Future School Options
It has long been assumed that single-sex Eton College would be the first choice for 12-year-old George when he leaves Lambrook. However, in May, the Prince and Princess of Wales were spotted touring Oundle, the £59,000-a-year Northamptonshire boarding school. Founded in 1556, the school is considered popular with Kate and William because they could send all three of their children there.
Oundle School Details
The school charges between £22,000 for day pupils and £44,330 a year for full-time boarders. It values tradition but is also renowned for its art and music, is eco-conscious, and has strong pastoral care. Oundle School is now the third-largest boarding school in England, only behind Eton and Millfield, and has around 820 boarders and 310 day pupils. The school started admitting girls in 1990 and now has a 60/40 male to female ratio.
Other Potential Schools
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Highgate School was closed for a 'special VIP visitor' – said to have been the princess. A source told The Mail on Sunday's Charlotte Griffiths that, while a day school in north London would be an 'unexpected choice', events of the past year might also have changed the Waleses' priorities. 'With the year Catherine has had, she may well have thought to herself that she wants to soak up every drop of George's childhood and tuck him into bed herself each night,' the source said.
The award-winning school counts Nobel Prize-winning poet TS Eliot, Liz Truss, and Marcus Mumford as alumni and was named London Independent School of the Decade by The Sunday Times Schools Guide for 2021. In line with Prince William's environment-first focus, the school claimed a string of prizes in recognition of its green initiatives, including the Supporting Sustainability accolade at the Education Choices Awards.
Elsewhere, speaking on HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast, Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of The Good Schools Guide, said that Wellington College in Berkshire is certainly a strong contender for Princess Charlotte, which naturally indicates it might also be of interest for George. 'I've been told Wellington is a possible school for Princess Charlotte,' she revealed. 'I suspect with the royals that normal rules possibly don't apply. I feel as though they may be holding multiple places at different schools.' Melanie added: 'If Charlotte is going to a co-ed, it might be that they would want her to be joined by her brother Louis. Logistically, that would work for them really, really well.'
