Kate Middleton is reportedly “heartbroken” over a decision she and Prince William will soon have to make about Prince George’s future.
According to Mirror, the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 42, are discussing where to send their eldest child once his time at preparatory school comes to an end.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl told the outlet that Middleton wants the 11-year-old to attend a co-ed school in England so he can be with his siblings — however, her husband has different wishes.
“Kate’s preference is for George to be at a co-education school, so he can be with his siblings, which is what Kate experienced at Marlborough with her sister, Pippa, and brother, James,” Nicholl said.
Middleton studied at Marlborough College in Wiltshire from 1996 to 2000.
“It was a very happy school life for her, but William has very fond memories of Eton, which has a long history with aristocrats and members of the royal family,” Nicholl explained.
According to Nicholl, William has his heart set on George attending Eton, the prestigious all-boys boarding school, where he and his brother, Prince Harry, studied.
While George is said to be excited at the prospect of attending his dad’s alma mater, Middleton is “heartbroken” at the idea and thinks the institution is too “stuffy.”
But Nicholl said there’s a possibility that George will not follow in his father’s footsteps since William did not enroll at the boarding school that his father, King Charles III, attended in Scotland.
“There’s always the possibility of traditions being changed,” Nicholl told the Mirror. “William and Harry didn’t end up following in their father’s footsteps by going to Gordonstoun [in Scotland], and it may be that George breaks the Eton mold and ends up somewhere else.”
She added, “Whatever happens, it’ll be a decision made by William and Kate with George’s best interests factored in.”
George is currently enrolled at Lambrook, a co-educational school for boys and girls aged 3 to 13 in the Berkshire countryside, with his siblings, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, per the BBC.
He and his siblings reportedly enjoy their time at Lambrook, which gives them stability, especially amid Middleton’s recent cancer treatment.
“When Kate was in hospital, George was on the football pitch playing with his friends,” Nicholl told the Mirror.
“That sense of normality, of keeping the family going at one of the hardest times they’ve ever gone through, was important.”