Kate Middleton reportedly hopes Prince George will attend her old secondary school

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, reportedly wants Prince George to go to her old secondary school when he gets older. Photo / Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge is reportedly keen for Prince George to go to her old
secondary school rather than Eton.

The 39-year-old royal's friend has revealed that Marlborough College in Wiltshire is high up on the Duchess's list of secondary education establishments to send her eldest son, 8, whom she has with her husband, Eton alumni Prince William.

A close friend of the duchess - who met William, also 39, at St Andrew's University - told the Daily Mail: "Eton hasn't been ruled out but they have talked at length about Marlborough as an option and the smart money is on George going there instead.

"William and Catherine surprised many with their choice of Thomas's Battersea for George over more traditional royal schools but picked it because they felt it was the right fit for him.

"They are very keen to allow George to spread his wings as a child and won't ever do what people expect them to do when it comes to their children."

George and his sister Charlotte, 6, currently go to Thomas's Battersea in southwest London.

Both public school Marlborough and private institution Eton take on pupils from the age of 13, so Catherine and William - who also have 3-year-old Prince Louis - have a few years to decide just yet.

Third-in-line to the British throne, George started school in 2017, and settled in "really easy".

Speaking about his son's first few days at school to patients at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool, The Duke of Cambridge said at the time: "It's been an interesting week.

"George has been really easy. He hasn't said, 'Have I got to do this for
the rest of my life?'"