Prince George to follow in father’s footsteps as family make huge decision

The youngest of Prince William and Kate Middleton's three children, Prince George, will attend Eton College later this year, Kensington Palace has confirmed.

A statement from William and Kate issued earlier today (16 June) announced: "Kensington Palace can confirm that Prince George will attend Eton College from this September."

William became the first senior royal to enrol at the prestigious institution in 1995, while his younger brother, Prince Harry, attended from 1998.

Eton College, which costs £21,099.60 per term, is just a 15-minute drive from the Wales' family home at Forest Lodge.

George, the eldest of William and Kate's three children, is currently in his final year at Lambrook School in Berkshire with his siblings Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight.

Prince George will be going to Eton College in September (Samir Hussein / Contributor / Getty Images)

Speaking on HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast, The Good Schools' Guide managing editor Melanie Sanderson revealed why the family opted for Eton over their other choice of £61,809-a-year Marlborough College, where Kate attended before going to St Andrews.

She said: "You can see Eton College from Windsor Castle. So that would be lovely for George to be able to pop home. And the boys now are allowed a little bit of freedom to pop in and out of school at the weekends, to come home for Sunday lunch or tea on a Saturday evening after their sports fixtures."

Speaking of William and Kate's decision to delay the announcement for as long as possible, she added: "They understand that the school itself, as well as George's new peer group, will fall under intense scrutiny as soon as it is revealed and will probably want to minimise this, allowing the young royal to transition to his new school with as little fanfare as possible."

William became the first senior royal to enrol at the prestigious institution in 1995 (Chris Jackson / Staff / Getty Images)

Speaking about the choice of Eton College, Sanderson previously told HELLO!: "I believe Eton is the most likely choice for Prince George.

"In our most recent review, we describe it as 'traditional, radical, expectation-busting and packed with confident boys with nary a hint of entitlement'.

"To me, this encompasses all the values we are told are important to this generation of royals."

Royal experts believe George's absence from the family home will mark a new chapter for William and Kate.

While they'll still have Charlotte and Louis around, it's predicted that the change-up will give the couple their first taste of an empty nest.

"Both of them know what it was like; they both boarded, so they know how it works," Robert Jobson previously told HELLO!. "William used to go to visit the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor while he was at Eton College, but that has to be organised.

"You can't just pop home when you want to."

He added of the Waleses: "They are such a tight family unit; George will be missed. It will be like having an empty seat at the table."