Prince George: Kate Middleton picture marks eighth birthday

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Kate’s children, George, eight and Princess Charlotte, six, return to school this September after a six-week holiday in the Isles of Scilly and the Queen’s Balmoral Estate. Both attend the prestigious independent school Thomas’s Battersea in south west London near Kensington Palace, while youngest child Prince Louis, who is three, will continue at Willcocks Nursery School, having joined last April. George, who is third-in-line to the throne, will remain at the south London day school despite it being tradition for royal children to be sent to board at the young prince’s age.

Prince William and his younger brother Harry were sent to independent preparatory school Ludgrove at eight before going to Eton College at 13.

Though US Weekly reported that the Duke and Duchess had “open conversations” with George about whether to send him to boarding school, the couple have seemingly chosen to break tradition. 

According to sources close to the royals,  the Duchess is reportedly already thinking about secondary school and whether to send George to Marlborough College which she attended between 1996 and 2000.

The Wiltshire-based school is allegedly being considered in order to give George a “less traditional” education.

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The friend told the Daily Mail in 2018: “Eton hasn’t been ruled out but they have talked at length about Marlborough as an option and the smart money is on George going there instead. 

“William and Catherine surprised many with their choice of Thomas’s Battersea for George over more traditional royal schools, but picked it because they felt it was the right fit for him. 

“They are very keen to allow George to spread his wings as a child and won’t ever do what people expect them to do when it comes to their children.”

Both schools take full-time boarders from the age of 13, though Marlborough seeks a mixed ability intake and is less competitive than Eton.

It also boasts an observatory, 280 acres of grounds and a swimming pool with a movable floor to change its depth.

The Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed her time at Marlborough, having joined midway through the academic year after allegedly being bullied by other girls at Downe House – a boarding school in Berkshire. 

According to friend Gemma Williamson, Kate “had very little confidence” when first arriving at the school but this soon changed.

Ms Williamson told the Daily Mail when Kate returned to school aged 16, after a long summer break, she was “an absolute beauty” and that “every boy in the school fancied her rotten”.

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Kate’s teacher Denise Allford added: “Pippa was a tomboy but Kate lost her braces and looked stunning.

“She was wearing make-up and looked amazing. 

“She was apparently top of the ‘Fit List’ which boys would sometimes pin on the walls.

“Kate’s confidence grew.”

The Duchess left Marlborough in July 2000 to attend the University of St Andrews where she met her future husband William.

The young prince had been at Eton, which boasts a range of notable alumni including actors Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston as well as Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana already broke tradition sending Will and Harry there, with the Prince of Wales and his brothers having attended Gordonstoun school in Scotland like their father the Duke of Edinburgh. 

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