Prince George beams as he arrives for first day at Eton College and gets words of advice from headmasterThe 13-year-old prince was met by the headteacher who told him: ‘Welcome, good luck, enjoy it’
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Tony Jones|Matt Watts, News Editor1 minute ago
Prince George was all smiles as he began his first day at Eton College with the reassuring presence of his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, by his side.
Kate placed a hand on his back during the greetings with senior staff and when the royals first arrived, Eton’s headmaster Simon Henderson told the future king: “Welcome, good luck, enjoy it”.
He looked happy and relaxed as he walked with his parents.
Prince George, accompanied by his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, starts his first day at Eton College in Windsor (Adrian Dennis/PA)
The prince and princess travelled with their son the short distance from their home in Forest Lodge, Windsor Great Park, to the renowned private school, which has educated a string of Prime Ministers and Hollywood stars.
The young prince is following in the footsteps of father William and uncle the Duke of Sussex, who both attended the college, located just across the River Thames from Windsor Castle in the town of Eton.
George and his parents arrived in School Yard, the Berkshire institution’s historic quadrangle overlooked by Lupton’s Tower, a Tudor landmark, and at its centre was a statue of King Henry VI, who founded Eton in 1440.
William was an Eton pupil for five years beginning in 1995 (PA)
Heavy rain had been falling all morning and only Kate sheltered under an umbrella as they walked across the square towards Eton’s headmaster and the provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge. William carried a folded umbrella, and George stood between his parents.
The group chatted for a few moments and Mr Henderson was overheard telling George: “Welcome, good luck, enjoy it”.
They then walked through a doorway into one of the oldest parts of Eton and Kate was seen to put her hand on her son’s back.
Beyond academic learning and sporting activities, Eton has a reputation for instilling self-reliance and leadership as students have to fulfil many non-academic tasks themselves.
William also attended Eton College (Adrian Dennis/PA)
Admission is rigorous, with the boys going through stringent tests and parents pay an annual fee of £63,298 for a school whose name is likely to be more influential than the academic qualifications gained by pupils.
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William was an Eton pupil for five years beginning in 1995 and served as a house captain and prefect before leaving to study at St Andrews University, while Harry joined three years after his brother.
Eton’s roll call of famous past students includes actors Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Eddie Redmayne, a large number of prime ministers including Lord David Cameron, writers George Orwell and Ian Fleming, and adventurer Bear Grylls.
George turned 13 in July and has spent part of the summer in Scotland with his family enjoying a break from studies after leaving Lambrook School, a private prep school in Berkshire he attended with siblings Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Louis.
George is following in his father’s footsteps and attending Eton College (Andrew Matthews/PA)
The prince will have to get used to his new life at Eton over the coming weeks, where pupils call teachers beaks and live in one of 25 boarding houses led by a house master and dame providing pastoral care and support.
George arrived wearing dark trousers, a jacket, shirt and tie and is expected to change into “school dress”, a uniform standardised in the 1960s of a black tailcoat, waistcoat and pinstriped trousers, with a stiff white collar.
William and Harry were allowed to complete their time at Eton without media intrusion and William and Kate will be hoping George receives the same courtesy.
Other new intakes arrived later in the morning after the prince and his parents, and some will have brought their possessions in traditional boarding school trunks.
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