Prince George is following in his father’s footsteps by attending Eton College and royal experts are calling it a very different royal world.
On Monday, George was photographed arriving to his first day with his happy parents in tow. Prince William and Kate Middleton were seen beaming in photos with their oldest son.
“A new successful chapter for the future heir to the throne. His great-grandmother would be tickled pink. It’s four years to the day, she passed. No doubt he’ll settle in well and master all the skills of kingship,” Helena Chard, British broadcaster and photographer, told Fox News Digital.
Chard added, “A buoyant Prince George arrived at Eton with the grounding presence of his chuffed supportive parents. He beamed to cameras fully aware of the drill. A brief photo-call, picture release and a hope that his education will take place away from public eyes. Simon Henderson welcomed Prince George to Eton, telling him, ‘Welcome. Good Luck. Enjoy it.'”
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Chard told Fox News Digital that Prince George’s classmates could turn into paparazzi, but it’s highly unlikely.
“His friends could be the new paparazzi with their phones at the ready. However, my hunch is his peers are of similar high profile ilk, unfazed by celebrity and royalty,” she said.
Hilary Fordwich, British royals expert, explained that Prince George is continuing the family tradition by attending Eton.
“Just as Prince William attended Eton it will provide stability, continuity and given family tradition has proven well for Prince William, it certainly is the best choice given the challenges of raising the future king,” Fordwich told Fox News Digital.
Fordwich acknowledged the large media presence for Prince George’s first day, she predicts that will die down.
“While there was extensive coverage of Prince William’s first day, Prince George’s is expected to be more modest with a limited press pool. Given Adelaide Cottage is close by on the Windsor estate, just as Prince William would take tea with his beloved grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William may well be able to pop home for family visits,” she said. “Importantly, being amongst pupils of his ilk he’ll be focused on academics, athletics and relatively normal school-boy adolescent life rather than isolated as previous generations were in the confines of a palace with tutors.”
“Luckily, given the family stability, he won’t be subject to the intense media scrutiny his grandparents went through given the state of their marriage when Prince William attended as then Prince Charles & Princess Diana’s marriage was rapidly disintegrating,” Fordwich added.
Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” told Fox News Digital that Prince William and Middleton have consciously made an effort to give Prince George a proper childhood before he becomes the future king.
“I think Prince William and Catherine have been incredibly thoughtful in allowing Prince George to be a child before he has to be a king. Obviously, there is nothing completely normal about being second in line to the throne, but they have surrounded him with routine, family, sports, and school rather than constantly reminding him of his future responsibility,” she began.
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“Eton is a significant new chapter, but I suspect their priority remains the same,” Schofield continued. “George should understand who he is without allowing that title to become his entire identity. They cannot give him a completely ordinary childhood, but they can give him a childhood, and I think they have worked very hard to protect that.”
WATCH: Prince George earned Eton College spot with ‘no special treatment’: expert
Due to Eton’s high-profile student base, it is possible for Prince George to not be given special treatment, according to Schofield, but he will never just be “another student.”
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“To a degree, yes. But Prince George will never truly be ‘just another student,’ because everyone knows who he is and what his future holds,” she said. “Eton is probably one of the few environments where being privileged, prominent or from a recognizable family is not necessarily unusual. The novelty of having a prince in the classroom eventually wears off when everyone has homework due the next morning.”
“That could be valuable for Prince George. He needs people around him who will challenge and compete with him. He doesn’t need everyone he meets treating him like a future king,” Schofield concluded.
Schofield told Fox News Digital that Eton will give Prince George valuable lessons before he becomes king.
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“Prince George will learn independence. He will learn how to navigate different personalities without his parents beside him. He will learn discipline, competition, friendship, and hopefully how to judge character,” she began.
“For a future king, that last one is especially important. Prince George will spend his entire adult life surrounded by people who know exactly who he is before he walks into a room. Learning to distinguish genuine friendship from fascination with his position is something Prince William has had to navigate his entire life. Eton could be an important training ground for that without anyone formally calling it royal training,” Schofield concluded.
