He came in as a soon-to-be king and as a nervous teenager about to start an exciting new chapter of his life.
But apart from a reassuring pat on the back from his mother Princess of WalesPrince George, 13, was the picture of calm as he arrived for his first day at the historic £65,000-a-year Eton College.
Dressed in a blazer, tie and chinos, the second in line for the throne walked smoothly through the rain and across the square of the world-famous public school – known to the students as the Schoolyard.
The family had emerged moments earlier from the archway beneath Lupton’s Tower, the 16th-century bell tower of the school’s gatehouse.
Catherine, dressed in a quiet but elegant green dress, held up a large golf umbrella and hung back slightly as her son stepped forward confidently next to his father. Prince Williamto be greeted by headmaster Simon Henderson and college Provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge, who chairs the governing body, with firm handshakes.
“George welcome, good luck, enjoy,” beamed Mr. Henderson.
While there may have been nerves on both sides, there were smiles all around as the group exchanged pleasantries, although the heavy rain drowned out the sound of their conversation.
The princess in particular had the blissful look of all proud mothers when they saw their children doing something very good.
A portrait of Prince George in his uniform as he starts his first day at Eton College this morning
The trio walked through Eton College’s historic School Yard quadrangle in heavy rain
Finally, Mr. Henderson invited them inside out of the rain and the all-too-brief photo call was over. George disappeared into what his family hoped would be the anonymity of school life.
It seems hard to believe that just a few years ago the confident young man before us was introduced to the world on the steps of the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington – or was pictured with tousled hair and his backpack almost as big as himself, on his first day at nursery.
The photocall was scheduled for 11am, half an hour before the rest of his fellow ‘F Blockers’ – Eton shorthand for first-year pupils – arrived.
It’s the only time in the next five years that George is likely to get special treatment — and even then, the decision was more about protecting the other children’s privacy.
All new pupils arrive in their own clothes before changing into Eton’s signature uniform, which consists of a black tailcoat, waistcoat and white tunic shirt.
Kensington Palace later released three portraits of a confident-looking George, taken on the spot by one of their favorite photographers, Matt Porteous.
William and Catherine, like all parents, stayed to watch their son sign his name in the same visitors’ book that his father and uncle, Prince Harry, signed during their first days at Eton, before helping him settle into his new bedroom. But then it was time to say goodbye.
The prince and princess have made it clear how grateful they are for the way the media and public have allowed their three children to grow up and enjoy their education away from the spotlight, and hope that will continue for George as he moves through his high school years, despite the ever-present threat of cell phone photography.
Prince William on his way to his first day at Eton School in 1995
Princess Diana and Charles with William and Harry outside Eton on William’s first day in 1995
William: Pictured at Eton in 2000
The young prince’s arrival at the exclusive public school was markedly different from his father’s first day on September 6, 1995.
William was then photographed arriving at his guest house in front of 300 members of the media around the world.
He was accompanied by his parents Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, who had been divorced for three years at the time, along with his now estranged younger brother. Eton was always the front runner for William and Catherine when it came to choosing a secondary school for their eldest child, but it was by no means a foregone conclusion. The couple was spotted at a number of other boarding schools.
What made it change was Eton’s proximity to the family’s ‘forever home’ in Windsor, Forest Lodge, the fact that the university has long experience in dealing with the complexities surrounding high-profile students and, of course, George’s own preference.
He will likely be joined by a number of friends from Lambrook, the coeducational prep school in Berkshire that he has attended with his siblings in recent years. It also helps that William has genuinely fond memories of his own time there: he made good friends who are still part of his inner circle today and loved being able to go ‘back over the bridge’ to nearby Windsor Castle to see ‘Grandma’.
William and Catherine hope that George’s time at Eton will be one of the happiest years of his life, allowing him to develop outside the spotlight and develop a close circle of friends who will support him for many decades to come.
He is said to be a hugely outdoorsy, sporty boy, who has shown a talent for triathlon and sailing – and is obsessed with flying – and is likely to ‘fit in well’.
The college was founded in 1440 to provide free education to 70 poor boys before they progressed to King’s College, Cambridge.
