The Princess of Wales is said to have made a huge decision concerning her eldest child after completing chemotherapy last year. The mum-of-three confirmed the news in a moving video by Will Warr released last September and has eased back into royal duties since then, undertaking major appearances both solo and with Prince William.
The couple’s children were also rarely seen in 2024, though according to royal biographer Robert Jobson, George’s life changed rather dramatically after Kate’s chemotherapy finished. Writing in The Windsor Legacy: A Dynasty of Secrets, Scandal and Survival, the expert suggested that she and William granted George’s request to spend weekdays living at Lambrook School.
"Once she was given the all-clear, William and Catherine made a big call for Prince George’s future. At twelve, he is growing up fast and, at his own request, became a weekly boarder at Lambrook School," Robert claimed, adding that the Prince was "staying in a designated boarding house starting in autumn".
Until then, all three of the Wales kids had been non-boarders and much has been made in the press over the years about whether or not they’ll go on to attend boarding school. Reports have even alleged that this is a matter of contention between Prince William and Catherine.
However, Robert’s remark, which is cited to an interview with a senior royal source, seems to indicate that both parents are happy to give Prince George a taste of a boarding school experience, without fully committing. The biographer adds that the 12-year-old lived at Lambrook "from Monday to Friday, living among his friends" and went home for weekends.
This gave him a "balance between independence and family". Neither the Prince nor Princess of Wales have publicly commented on George’s boarding, but if he did start, it’s possible that this has continued and in September 2025 the Prince began his final year at the prep school.
The future Queen is a hands-on mum to George, Charlotte and Louis and not seeing her eldest child during the week after going through one of the toughest times of her life could be seen as a big sacrifice for Kate. Still, with the history of royals attending boarding school it seems almost inevitable that the 12-year-old will live away from home as a student eventually.
Having her family close by as she underwent chemotherapy was likely a big source of comfort to the Princess, though working out how to tell the kids about her illness took time. She shared as much in the video confirming her diagnosis and the future King recently shed more light on how they approached things.
Speaking to Brazilian TV host Luciano Huck ahead of the Earthshot Prize Awards 2025 ceremony, Prince William explained, "Sometimes you feel you're oversharing with the children. But most of the time, hiding stuff from them doesn't work".
"And so explaining how they feel, why that's happening, giving them other viewpoints as to why they might be feeling like they are sometimes helps give them a bigger picture, and they can relax more into it rather than being really anxious about 'what are you hiding from me'?" the Prince added.
"There's a lot more questions when there's no answers," he said. "But it's always a balancing act."
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