While Prince George has now become a full-time boarder at Eton College, Prince William and Kate Middleton still have to take Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to school each morning
Every parent knows the chaos of the school run – from hunting down missing shoes and PE kits and making sure everyone has their packed lunches, it’s a miracle when little ones arrive in class on time each morning.
And it seems the royal family are no different with Prince William and Kate Middleton taking an active role in getting their children to the school gates each morning. In fact, so common are the Prince and Princess of Wales outside school it’s said the other parents and children barely notice them.
This year will be the first time the royal parents have just the two children to get to school each morning as Prince George has now started at Eton College, where he is a full-time boarder.
The future king follows in the footsteps of his William in attending the elite private school, which has also taught 20 British prime ministers. Fees are around £65,000 a year.
Prince William enjoyed his time as a boarder at the school close to George’s home in Windsor. When he left at 18 he said: “I’ve really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student.”
However, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are both still pupils at Lambrook School, also in Windsor, which they have attended since the family relocated to Windsor in 2022.
This means William and Kate are still taking part in the school run each morning, with the Prince of Wales opening up about the experience – and it was very relatable to parents.
Speaking to Heart Radio, the future king, when asked if the school run was chaotic, said: “It can be. It depends if there’s a guitar lesson going on in the morning – a music lesson – you’ve got to get the guitar in the car. No, we’re not taking the guitar; we need the bag for school. Are we boarding? No, we’re not. Are we seeing friends? No, we’re not. So there’s all that going on in the morning.”
He also explained snacks are an absolute must when it comes to getting the young royals to the school gates on time, adding a favourite was jam sandwiches. William joked: “There’s a lot of jam sandwiches taken in the car usually. Louis will leave jam fingerprints throughout the car, which is really helpful.”
There’s another specific issue affecting the Wales’ school run each morning, which many parents will be able to relate to – arguing over what they listen to, especially because Charlotte is a huge fan of Taylor Swift. William explained: “Charlotte, my daughter and Louis are fans. Charlotte, particularly, is obsessed with Taylor Swift. She saw her in the Eras Tour, it was amazing. We did meet her.”
And when it comes to security the Prince and Princess of Wales do everything they can to keep the school run as normal an experience as possible for their children, while also ensuring they remain safe.
Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan explained the school run is just as carefully planned as a major royal public appearance, with some tweaks to keep officers discrete. He said: “There is still a large protection package attached to that particular movement, like taking the children to school, but it is dealt with in a different way.”
Morgan says security around Kate and William’s school run is “discrete and unobtrusive” with the security detail much less visible. He added: “It still exists as a protection package with a protection principal, who is a senior member of the Royal Family.
“here’s still the same level of planning, the same level of scrutiny, and quite importantly, the contingency planning from the protection officer’s perspective as to what is an everyday occurrence across the world of a parent taking a child to school. Obviously, you factor a lot more into that to allow that to take place.”