Prince George likely won’t have this privilege at Eton, unlike his dad Prince William

George will start at the prestigious school this fall.

The Gist

• Prince George and Prince William’s years at Eton College will look a lot different.
• “It’s protecting his privacy in an age where something can go viral in seconds,” royals expert Kinsey Schofield said of William’s eldest son.
• George is slated to start at Eton in the fall.

Prince George is following in his father Prince William’s footsteps as an Etonian, but his time at the prestigious academy will likely look very different.

“The biggest challenge won’t be academics or making friends. It’ll be balancing Prince George’s privacy with the reality that every classmate has TikTok,” royals expert Kinsey Schofield told Page Six on July 21. George, 12, is slated to start at Eton College in the fall.

“William and [his brother] Harry attended before social media transformed adolescence,” she continued. “George won’t have that luxury.”

Schofield added that George will need more than just “physical protection.” “It’s protecting his privacy in an age where something can go viral in seconds,” she said.

Schofield explained that things have “changed dramatically” since William went there.

“The risks today aren’t just about someone physically approaching the future king,” she said. “Digital exposure, drones, social media, and the speed at which information spreads all complicate the security picture.”

Schofield believes that George’s protection will be “more sophisticated, even if it’s designed to remain largely invisible,” and that security efforts “behind the scenes” are likely “robust.”

“I suspect every effort will be made to ensure his peers aren’t constantly reminded they’re standing next to a future king,” she said. “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,” Schofield clarified.

Read the original article on InStyle