Prince George at Eton

[squashyhat]

Can anyone explain why Prince George is boarding at Eton when the family home is just minutes away across the river?

It's tradition, normal in the circles of society they move in. And he's 13.... hardly a small child. He'll probably be a weekly boarder and home every weekend. And he will get excellent pastoral support given who he is.

Child of wealthy family goes to boarding school.

Yawn.....

They don't have weekly boarders at Eton.

Yes, Prince William used to go up to the Castle and have Sunday Tea with QEll

As King Charles is reported to spend Sunday afternoons with the Wales's, it's likely that George will return home for Sunday tea with his Grandpa and the rest of his family

He'll hopefully be up the backers smoking weed and drinking cider and before too long flirting with the girls in town. To get him used to the real world 😊

This is just pointlessly rude and nasty.

I expect my kids to leave for university at 18: we’ll still support them, they’ll still be welcome at home, we’ll still see them and speak to them regularly. But does the fact that I expect them to move out at some point mean I should never have bothered having them?

My eldest will likely board from 16. He’ll love it, he’ll get better grades and do better in his extra curriculars, and he will have a supportive halfway house to becoming more independent and better at living with housemates etc, rather than just jumping into that situation for the first time at 18.

I think it will be better for him, it’s a considered choice based on his personality, interests, and the schooling options that we have.

For the vast majority of people choosing boarding It’s not in any way neglectful or uncaring and frankly you’re a nasty person to suggest that it is.

He's looked a lot happier at recent events. He also looks happy when meeting people and doing fun activities. He doesn't seem to enjoy events when he's just stared at, but he's been a bit more relaxed recently (e.g. Commonwealth Games). He was a bit shy, now he's growing up, a teenager already. He's doing fine.

I'm sure he'll be happy at Eton, with its huge sports grounds, rowing, theatres, concert halls, recording studios, visting speakers, libraries and amazing campus. He will be able to see his parents and siblings very often. He strikes me as a bit studious, so he will enjoy the academic environment.

Boarding isnt for me, but good for him

Itll likely be a bit of freedom for him

I hope those that support him going there also support the importance of welfare and support for Britain's poorest x

They all board there, even the kids of the housemasters attending the school - who board in a different house to their parent. It is part of the school ethos.

The royal family nonsense is so ridiculous that he's probably one of those kids who will be better at boarding. That's why they used to be used - get the kid away from the servants and everyone that fusses around them.

How do you get that from them wheeling their children out at events and sharing orchestrated photos that are planned by a team of pr people? You literally have no idea what these people are like as parents or just generally as people, it is all a facade that is created to keep the royalists fawning over them.

Saw that on The Crown 🙂

A ridiculous amount of money is spent on the Royal Family - George's school fees don't really scratch the surface. It's only what many wealthy people would spend on educating their children. Much as I think the Royal Family could do with a sharp injection of reality, I don't think it would be practical to send George to some nearby 'Academy' that's in special measures, he'd be an absolute magnet for bullies and chancers.

They don't have weekly boarders, but if you look at the term dates then every couple of weeks there is weekend leave. I think Induction Day for the new boys is today, then term starts on 9 September and on 19 September they can already go home for the Saturday night, and there is a full weekend off from 2-4 October, after which they get a couple of weeks off in late October/early November, then a couple more Saturday nights and full weekends off in November, and then it's the long Christmas holiday. The other two terms are similar. So, there are plenty of opportunties for George to go home.

www.etoncollege.com/news-and-diary/term-dates/

I hope he enjoys it. Shame the King didn't get to go there

That extremely factual, forensically accurate account of Elizabeth II's reign 😂

Meh

These five years at boarding school will be the closest this poor kid will get to a normal life/some small bit of freedom.

Why do you think they are bad parents?

I had some friends at a boys school like that, and a number of the boys who lived nearby were boarders; mostly because the school day at a public school is structured very differently, with lots of sport, and gaps during the day, so the 'normal' day is very long. Then in the evening there might be clubs, one-on-one tutorials, rehearsals for orchestra/drama and 'prep' time where everyone is expected to be in their room studying unless at a named activity, including day-students. Day students were expected to eat supper at school to facilitate this.
So if you did go home, it would likely be quite late most days and sometimes after 9 if one of the clubs was having an event you wanted to go to.
At my own school (I was a day-girl) the ones who lived nearby and boarded either did it because they wanted to live in with their friends during term time (and had begged their parents to be allowed) or because both parents had jobs that took them away a lot, and boarding provided the child with a consistent routine.
I wouldn't put our DC in boarding school, but it works for a lot of families if the child is happy. They aren't always.

The royal family do their own spending on themselves. The state only pays for some security and when they are performing state events. The state isn't paying for George's schooling. As for where they are educated, I don't think there's a problem with the future head of state getting the best education possible and to be cultivated in various ways, to develop what used to be called character, so as to be able to speak to anyone, make public appearances, understand different cultures and countries, to be well read and have a sense of art and literature, have a broad knowledge of the way things work in the world, to be confident and act in a polite and dignified manner, to be a man or woman of the world, especially as his/her job will involve representing the country to the world and meeting foreign dignitaries from all over the world.

I know when looking at examples of Old Etonians such as Boris Johnson or even a certain Harry you wouldn't think that much of the education that Eton provides, but I think it will well prepare George for the life that is ahead of him.

I don't disagree that Eton is the right school for George, just with the whole outdated monarchy. But while we have a monarchy, it makes sense for George to go to that kind of school.

and are thick as shit.

I'm not a boarding school fan and no particular lover of the monarchy, but I suspect this is one of the rare instances where boarding school will offer a more normal environment than home life. They seem to be decent parents but their life is a fishbowl of attention. He'll be more insulated from the public gaze at Eton than at home, coming and going to and from school.

I’m sorry if that’s been your whole experience of ex-Etonians, @Somersetbaker. 🤷‍♀️