Eton or a Bold New Era? Prince William and Kate Middleton Set to 'Shake Things Up' With Prince George's Next School
Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, both 42, could be set to "shake things up" by sending Prince George, 11, to a "state school," according to an expert.
Royal commentator Richard Palmer told an outlet, "Personally, I think it's a great shame that our future head of State doesn't actually go to a state school. And I think it would be fantastic if that were to happen."
Her Royal Highness thinks "sending George to such a stuffy, upper-crust institution goes against all of their efforts to modernize the monarchy," a palace insider disclosed.
The future king and queen are said to be going back and forth between Eton College — William's alma mater — and Marlborough College, which is where Kate graduated from. However, the king and queen-in-waiting have reportedly reached a possible compromise and are also considering another option.
Their Royal Highnesses are also looking at St Edward's School in Oxford, which comes with a 47,000 pound per year price tag. It is believed the pair think the school is a good fit for George, who is second in line to the throne, and reportedly visited the location shortly before the princess had abdominal surgery. Kate long disagreed with her husband about sending him away, even though it's tradition, a second insider dished.
"Kate thinks sending him to such a stuffy, upper-class institution goes against all of their efforts to modernize the monarchy," another royal source told an outlet when discussing the future monarch and queen consort's plans.
"Kate long disagreed with her husband about sending him away, even though it’s tradition," they said.
"Eton College is a charity for the advancement of education. At its heart sits an independent boys' boarding school which leads a dynamic range of educational activities and an expanding network of educational partnerships," the school's mission statement reads.
"The charity’s primary purpose, determined from its Christian foundation in 1440, is to draw out the best of young people’s talents and to enable them to flourish and make a positive impact on others through the course of a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life," the directive concluded.
Heirs to the British throne throughout the centuries have typically been raised in a rigid and far more public-facing life in line with the Crown's ancient code of lifetime service for its monarchs in serving their people. However, the future King George VII is different, and even his childhood has been less duty-bound than his father's was during the 1980s and 1990s.
Numerous royal commentators credit the future queen with this new trend in line "with how modern society functions."
Daily Mirror reported on the expert opinions.