Prince George set for first day at Eton College

Prince George arrived on a rainy morning for his first day at Eton College, accompanied by his father and mother, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince William and Catherine carried umbrellas as they brought George, wearing a jacket and tie, to be welcomed by the head teacher, Simon Henderson, and provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge.

"Welcome, good luck and enjoy," said the head teacher, shaking hands with Prince George.

They made small talk about the bad weather before the new pupil, parents and staff disappeared inside the historic school, where 13-year-old George will be a boarder.

George, who had travelled the short journey from his home at Forest Lodge in Windsor, was seen with his parents arriving at Eton's school yard, overlooked by the school's Tudor landmark of Lupton's Tower.

He was later photographed wearing the school's uniform, with black tailcoat, waistcoat and a stiff white collar.

The future king follows in the footsteps of his father in attending the elite private school, which has taught 20 British prime ministers and where fees are around £65,000 a year.

There had been speculation about which school Prince George would attend when he finished at independent prep school Lambrook in Berkshire, with a number of private schools being suggested.

But a traditional option was chosen, with Prince George following his father, uncle Prince Harry, and great uncle Earl Spencer in attending Eton College.

Prince George will now become a boarder. The school has 25 boarding houses, each of which is home to approximately 55 pupils starting from the age of 13, who are looked after by residential staff headed by a house master.

George's time at Eton is likely to see him protected from media and public attention - and Prince William, as an 18-year-old, had spoken of how much he had enjoyed being able to be an ordinary student at the school.

"I've really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student," he said in June 2000.

Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of the Good Schools Guide, said about Eton that "despite its ancient buildings, it is a modern school with a progressive outlook".

"Most 13-year-old boys arriving there in September cannot possibly know what adult life holds for them.

"Prince George, however, faces a very particular future and his parents, with an unrivalled choice of schools available to them, have decided that an Eton education represents the best preparation for life as a modern working royal," she said.

Among recent politicians to have attended Eton have been Lord David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Kwasi Kwarteng and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Old Etonian celebrities include Eddie Redmayne, Dominic West, Damian Lewis and Tom Hiddleston.

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