It's finally September, which means back to school season has arrived for families up and down the nation - and the royals are no different. This year, however, there's a big change to the usual school run for the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children; Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The Prince and Princess of Wales famously do the school run themselves, and are known to rely sparingly on staff to create as much normality for their family as possible. Former royal butler, Grant Harrold, says that 'their day-to-day life is far more "normal" than older members of the Royal Family' in this sense, as 'both William and Kate like doing things for themselves.' He adds that 'the school run is part of this' effort, and that driving their kids to school like any other parents 'brings some normality for George, Charlotte and Louis.'
While the couple are both busy working members of the Royal Family, Grant explains that they're able to make time for the school run because 'the royal schedule starts at 10am,' meaning it 'is doable in terms of their work commitments.'
This year, however, there's one big change. While Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis usually travel to school together, Prince George has now enrolled at Eton College, having reached the starting age of 13. Eton is a boarding school, which means he won't need to be driven back and forth as part of the regular school run anymore. Although Prince George did have the option to occasionally board at his previous school (which Prince William has said he sometimes chose to do), boarding regularly at Eton will mean more time away from home and be a much more independent step up for the young royal.
Speaking on a breakfast radio show earlier this year, Prince William revealed some relatable details about the family's morning routine, including the snack he feeds his children on the way to school. 'There’s a lot of jam sandwiches taken in the car usually,' Prince William confessed. 'Louis will leave jam fingerprints throughout the car, which is really helpful.'
Co-presenter Amanda Holden also asked whether Prince William and Kate's school rush was as chaotic as many people's are. 'It can be,' Prince William said. 'It depends if there’s a guitar lesson going on in the morning - a music lesson - you’ve got to get the guitar in the car. No, we’re not taking the guitar, we need the bag for school. Are we boarding [overnight at school]? No, we’re not. Are we seeing friends? No, we’re not. So there’s all that going on in the morning.'
