Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have held royal titles from birth. But those titles stay outside the classroom.
The three children use a simpler naming convention at school, continuing a family tradition their father and uncle followed decades earlier.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis may be among Britain’s most recognizable royal children, but their titles do not follow them into the classroom.
The children of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, returned to school in September for a significant academic year. George, 13, began at Eton College, while Charlotte, 11, entered Year 7 and Louis, eight, started Year 4 at Lambrook Prep School in Berkshire, according to Hello! magazine.
At official appearances and in other areas of royal life, the siblings continue to use their royal titles. At school, however, a long-standing family convention gives them a simpler identity among classmates.
And it is a convention their father knows well.
Catherine joined Charlotte, George, and Louis on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour on June 13, 2026. The children are known by their royal titles at public events like this, but at school, their classmates call them something much simpler. | Source: Getty Images
William Followed the Same Classroom Tradition Decades Ago
William knows what it is like to enter school with a royal title but use a different name among classmates.
William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, used “Wales” as their surname at school. The name came from their father Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales. That tradition has an especially strong connection to George this year.
William and Harry headed back to Wetherby School with their mother, Princess Diana, in London in April 1990. As schoolchildren, the brothers used “Wales” as a surname, taking it from their father Charles’ title at the time. | Source: Getty Images
The 13-year-old began at Eton in September, the same school his father attended for five years beginning in 1995.
William served as a house captain and prefect before leaving Eton and later attending the University of St Andrews. Harry enrolled at Eton three years after his brother.
Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles accompanied William and Harry as William registered at Eton in September 1995. More than three decades later, William would return to the school for the start of his own son’s Eton education. | Source: Getty Images
George’s arrival, therefore, carries two family connections. He is attending his father’s former school while following the same type of naming convention William used as a student.
William and Catherine accompanied their eldest son on his first day at Eton on Sept. 8. George moved into one of the school’s 25 boarding houses.
William and Catherine walked with George as he arrived for his first day at Eton on Sept. 8, 2026. The milestone brought George to the same school his father attended, continuing a family connection that extends to the name each used as a student. | Source: Getty Images
George’s move has also raised interest in how Eton could prepare him for the responsibilities he is expected to assume later in life.
Melanie Sanderson, managing editor at the Good Schools Guide, pointed to the range of opportunities available to students when discussing why Eton suited George.
Eton College welcomed George for his first day on September 8, 2026, beginning a new chapter in the 13-year-old’s education. The school also carries a strong family connection: William spent five years there beginning in 1995. | Source: Getty Images
“Eton, above all the other schools, has a breadth that’s really unparalleled,” Sanderson said in the report. “All the other public schools have extracurricular opportunities, in theatre and on the sports pitch, but Eton really does take it to another level.”
She also highlighted the role of chapel at Eton, an element with particular relevance to George’s future.
George’s move has also raised interest in how Eton could prepare him for the responsibilities he is expected to assume later in life.
Melanie Sanderson, managing editor at the Good Schools Guide, pointed to the range of opportunities available to students when discussing why Eton suited George.
Eton College welcomed George for his first day on September 8, 2026, beginning a new chapter in the 13-year-old’s education. The school also carries a strong family connection: William spent five years there beginning in 1995. | Source: Getty Images
“Eton, above all the other schools, has a breadth that’s really unparalleled,” Sanderson said in the report. “All the other public schools have extracurricular opportunities, in theatre and on the sports pitch, but Eton really does take it to another level.”
She also highlighted the role of chapel at Eton, an element with particular relevance to George’s future.
William was confirmed at Eton, and Sanderson said she expects George to follow the same path.
Yet despite the significance surrounding George’s future, one part of his everyday school life is much simpler. Charlotte and Louis share the same distinction.
Their Parents’ New Titles Changed Something at School
The children’s school surname has already changed once. Before William and Catherine became the Prince and Princess of Wales, they were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their children used “Cambridge” as a surname at their previous schools, according to the report.
William and Catherine appeared with George, Charlotte and Louis during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, when the family still held the Cambridge titles. At the time, the children also used “Cambridge” as their surname at school. | Source: Getty Images
That earlier name reveals how the convention works. Instead of relying on a permanent family surname for school, the children have used a name derived from their parents’ title.
The situation changed after Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, at age 96, according to the BBC. The Royal Family announced her death on X that day, saying she had “died peacefully at Balmoral.”
Her death brought her son, King Charles III, to the throne and changed William and Catherine’s roles within the Royal Family. They subsequently became the Prince and Princess of Wales.
William and Catherine appeared at Buckingham Palace following the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023, months after becoming the Prince and Princess of Wales. Their new titles also marked a change from the Cambridge name the family had used for years. | Source: Getty Images
George, Charlotte, and Louis retained their royal titles, but the change gave them a new surname to use at school – one that reflected their parents’ new titles.