Prince William Has Made One Thing Clear About Prince George's Future

Prince George's childhood is very different from King Charles III's, and that's chiefly because his parents made it so. The Prince and Princess of Wales have been careful not to put too much royal weight on the young heir, and during a 2025 interview, Prince William made one thing abundantly clear about George's future: He wants it to look different than the road that William himself had to walk. "I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people's lives for the better," the prince told Eugene Levy during an October 2025 episode of Apple+ TV series "The Reluctant Traveler" (via Us Weekly). "That is caveated with, I hope we don't go back to some of the practices in the past that Harry and I had to grow up in, and I'll do everything I can to make sure we don't regress in that situation." 

William acknowledged that the prospect of his son becoming king someday is huge and, "There's lots of things to think about with that." The heir apparent has been doing a lot of thinking, it seems, with sources telling Heatworld that William is increasingly eager to show George the royal ropes. However, Kate Middleton reportedly isn't as keen. "There's an understanding that things will change after this summer and there are things that William and Kate don't see eye to eye on," an insider disclosed in June 2026, elaborating that William wants to gradually prepare George for his future role while Princess Catherine would rather he get to be a normal kid for as long as possible before being weighed down by royal duties and the knowledge that, one day, he'll rule.

Prince William might be crystal clear on how he intends to pave the way for his eldest son, Prince George's, ascension to the throne, but the crucial matter of where the youngster will receive his secondary school education once he turns 13 remains up in the air. The Prince and Princess of Wales have reportedly long been at odds over where to send George, with William apparently favoring his alma mater, Eton College, and Kate Middleton vouching for hers, Marlborough College. As of this writing, the two are yet to publicly announce their decision, though rumors have been swirling that William ultimately won the argument and George will be off to Eton come September 2026.

Managing Editor of The Good Schools Guide Melanie Sanderson told Hello! magazine in November 2025 that the public is unlikely to be informed of the Waleses' final decision well ahead of time, as they will be trying to protect George and his future peers from all of the media attention it will inevitably evoke. As for which school she believes George will attend, Sanderson reckons Eton will probably be the winner. "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," she opined.

There's been plenty of speculation about what will happen when Prince George becomes king, as well as whispers about how George's training as future king could be very different from Prince William and King Charles III's experience. In May 2025, royal watchers caught a glimpse of what it might look like when George attended a royal engagement with his parents. It was a simple tea party for veterans at Buckingham Palace, and the prince's appearance understandably made waves, with it being his first formal royal engagement.

A palace insider described the venture as "a massive balancing act" to People. As they surmised, "William and Kate are doing the right thing, protecting him so he can have as normal a childhood as possible, but he's also dipping into duties as a future monarch." George made another public appearance at the Royal Albert Hall, alongside mom Kate Middleton, in November 2025 for the Festival of Remembrance. In July 2025, royal author Robert Hardman asserted to Hello! magazine that the Waleses are gradually introducing George to royal life in a way that makes it enjoyable for him but is still educational. 

Fellow royal author Sally Bedell Smith concurred, noting, "It's still early for George to be doing more but he's being exposed to public life in a pretty intelligent way. They seem to be doing it all very thoughtfully." Hardman added that, with the way William and Princess Catherine are going about it, George is enjoying a much happier childhood than his father ever had. "One of the things that William regards as extremely important is his role not just as heir, but as father of an heir," the royal expert pointed out.