Prince George is officially ready for Eton.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s eldest son turned 13 on Wednesday. Reaching his teen years is a milestone in and of itself, but the prince’s new age makes him old enough to attend Eton College, often called “the nursery of England’s gentlemen.”
The prestigious boarding school outside London educates around 1,350 boys aged 13-18 each year, according to its website. Its alumni include members of the royal family, including Prince William and Prince Harry, actor Tom Hiddleston, author George Orwell, and former prime minister Boris Johnson.
George, who is second in line to the British throne, will join those esteemed alumni’s ranks in September.
Keep reading to take a look inside Eton College.
Eton was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI.
Eton is an all-boys school located outside London, near Windsor. It was originally intended to educate poor boys before they went on to Cambridge University.
It is one of England’s nine original fee-paying independent schools, according to The New York Times.
William and Kate moved to Adelaide Cottage at Windsor Castle in 2022, which is about a mile from Eton. They enrolled George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis at the nearby Lambrook School at the time, though they may have already been considering how a home base at Windsor could be beneficial if George enrolled at Eton.
Before being accepted, students go through a two-part application process that begins three years before they enroll.
Only boys aged 13 to 18 attend Eton. The application process begins when a prospective student is in year 5 of primary school, at age 10, three years before they would actually attend Eton. Students hoping to start at Eton in 2029 need to register by August 31, 2026, the Eton website states. George would have begun his application process in 2023.
After a student registers, the application process occurs in two stages, as outlined on the school’s website.
First, hopeful applicants take an online assessment. “Successful boys” then come to Eton for an individual interview and an additional online test taken at the school. Four to six weeks later, applicants will find out if they have been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.
Once accepted, a student’s parents will have to pay an acceptance fee in addition to the school’s annual fee of £65,673 (or about $87,824). The school offers financial aid and scholarships to some students, but most pay their own tuition in full.
Eton students live in one of the 25 houses on campus.
About 55 students of all ages, with 11 from each age group, live in each house at Eton, according to the school’s website. Each student has their own room from the time they arrive.
The houses are run by the House Master and Dame, who oversee the house’s full-time staff and care for the students. Some of the houses employ private chefs to feed their residents, while others send their students to the school’s dining hall.
Each student also has a personal tutor to support his academic growth.
Students wear Eton’s traditional uniform.
Eton refers to its uniform as its “school dress” on its website. The uniform consists of a black tailcoat, white tie, waistcoat, and striped pants.
Students add a top hat to that look for special occasions.
Eton plans out students’ entire day, beginning with breakfast at 7:30 a.m.
Eton students’ days follow a strict schedule, starting with a Chapel service or Assembly, the school’s website notes.
Afterward, students attend three classes, which they call “schools” or colloquially “divs.” They have a 25-minute midmorning break called “Chambers” in their rooms where they can have a snack or connect with a teacher, called “masters” at the school.
Lunch is called “boys’ dinner,” and they have extracurriculars, including sports and the school’s “Societies Programmes,” as well as afternoon tea once their lessons are finished.
Life at Eton is governed by traditions, including the wall game.
Eton has accomplished rowing, soccer, and cricket teams, but the wall game is Eton’s best-known extracurricular.
The school describes the game as “resembling elements of both football and rugby, despite at times looking like no other imaginable game.” Players try to kick the ball down a narrow strip of grass next to one of the college’s walls to score.
Eton students are known for their powerful connections.
For instance, a group of 11 Eton students traveled to Russia in 2016 to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
The students planned the trip on their own with no help from the school, Eton said in a statement to The Telegraph.
Fifteen members of the British royal family have attended Eton, including Prince William and Prince Harry.
Royals like the princes typically live in Eton’s Manor House, though Kensington Palace has not announced if George will live in the same house when he arrives at the school.
Eton’s website says the school has also educated royals from Belgium, Romania, Ethiopia, Thailand, and Nepal.
Boris Johnson was the fifth Eton graduate to become prime minister since World War II.
Prime ministers David Cameron, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Macmillan, and Anthony Eden also attended Eton.
In total, Eton has educated 20 prime ministers.
Royals and future politicians are not the only famous graduates of Eton.
In addition to the prime ministers, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redmayne are also “Old Etonians.” Redmayne even played on the same rugby team as Prince William at Eton, People reported.
“I always felt a bit sorry for him because basically any school you played, all they wanted to do was tackle Prince William, and they could say, ‘I tackled Prince William,'” Redmayne told People. “So if you were standing next to Prince William, like I was, it was actually quite easy and quite fun.”
Hiddleston graduated from Eton one year before Prince William and Redmayne, according to the school’s website.
Prince George will start at Eton in September.
George was first spotted touring Eton in April 2023 with his parents, People reported at the time.
Kensington Palace announced his coming attendance in June 2026, but his application process would have been underway for years before the news was made public.
The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a new portrait of George on their Instagram to mark his 13th birthday. He wore a black suit in the shot, perhaps hinting at the uniform he will soon wear daily.
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