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Prince George will experience several major lifestyle changes when he starts his new chapter at Eton College this fall.
The eldest son of Prince William and Kate Middleton is expected to have his own room while attending the all-boys boarding school, royal expert Kinsey Schofield exclusively told Page Six.
“People are sometimes surprised to learn that Eton students don’t typically have roommates,” she said, noting, “Prince William and Prince Harry [who attended the elite school] each had their own study and bedroom, just like their classmates.”
Schofield said that having a private retreat is the “greatest gift” Eton can offer the future heir to the British throne.
“He’ll have a space where he can decompress away from the constant scrutiny that comes with being a future king,” she said.
However, Schofield believes George will not be isolated from his classmates and will have the opportunity to immerse himself with his peers in other ways.
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“Eton’s house system is designed to create community,” she explained. “Students share kitchens, common rooms, meals and daily life together.
“George will still be immersed in a social environment, just with the benefit of having somewhere to retreat at the end of the day.”
One avenue George may take to make new friends is through the athletics programming — just like his father, who played soccer, water polo and other sports during his time as a student at Eton.
“I would be surprised if Prince George didn’t immerse himself in sports at Eton,” Schofield said. “Everything we’ve seen suggests he’s inherited his mother and father’s competitive streak, and Eton has always viewed athletics as an important part of school life.”
George, who celebrated his 13th birthday Wednesday, has allegedly already proven to be “exceptionally athletic,” so Schofield believes he will carve out his own identity through sports at the new school.
“[Soccer] feels like the safest prediction,” Schofield said. “It’s something Prince William genuinely loves, and it’s clearly become a passion they’ve shared as father and son.”
However, there’s speculation that George will take on rugby — with Middleton previously joking that he has the build for the sport.
“Whether they ultimately encourage a full-contact sport is another question, but he certainly seems to have the enthusiasm for it,” Schofield said.
Whatever path he ends up taking could ultimately help even the playing field for the prince in social settings.
“If academics got Prince George through Eton’s front gates, sports could be what makes him feel at home there. It’s one of the few places where a future king can just be another teammate chasing a win,” Schofield said.
For George, making friends and keeping up with his academics won’t be his biggest challenge. Instead, Schofield believes George will have to face a hurdle his father didn’t have to at Eton — social media.
“William and Harry attended before social media transformed adolescence. George won’t have that luxury,” Schofield said. “His security challenge isn’t just physical protection anymore. It’s protecting his privacy in an age where something can go viral in seconds.”
Prince George’s security will undoubtedly be robust behind the scenes, Schofield said.
“But I suspect every effort will be made to ensure his peers aren’t constantly reminded they’re standing next to a future king,” she explained. “When Prince William attended Eton, his protection officers dressed in plain clothes and blended into the background.
“That philosophy of being seen as little as possible is probably even more important today because teenagers are already growing up under the microscope of social media.”
Instead of just working about any physical risk, George’s security must protect him from digital exposure via drones, social media and other technologies.
“That means Prince George’s protection will almost certainly be more sophisticated, even if it’s designed to remain largely invisible,” Schofield said.
As for whether George will get to visit his parents and siblings — Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8 — his family’s home, Forest Lodge, is located only mere minutes from Eton.
“So unlike many boarders, home won’t feel worlds away,” she said. “That proximity should make the transition much gentler.”
“George will probably enjoy the best of both worlds — the independence of boarding school with the comfort of knowing home is just down the road,” she continued. “I wouldn’t be surprised if George spends a great deal of his free time with his family.”
