Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Prince George began a major new chapter on a rainy morning as he arrived at Eton College for his first day, accompanied by his parents, Prince William and Katherine, Princess of Wales.
The 13-year-old future king was welcomed at the historic school by head teacher Simon Henderson and provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge. According to the BBC, William and Katherine carried umbrellas as they accompanied their son into the school grounds, where George was greeted by the head teacher.
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“Welcome, good luck and enjoy,” Henderson told George as they shook hands.
The brief exchange was followed by some small talk about the wet weather before George, his parents and the school staff headed inside. The teenager, who had made the short journey from his family home at Forest Lodge in Windsor, is now set to live at Eton as a boarder.
George was later photographed in his new school uniform, which includes the prestigious school’s distinctive black tailcoat, waistcoat and stiff white collar. He was pictured arriving in the school yard, with Lupton’s Tower, one of Eton’s Tudor landmarks, visible in the background.
George’s choice of school had been the subject of considerable speculation after he completed his education at Lambrook, an independent prep school in Berkshire.
The Prince of Wales had also attended Eton, as did Prince Harry and George’s great-uncle Earl Spencer. The elite independent school has also educated 20 British prime ministers.
According to the BBC, annual fees at Eton are around £65,000. The school takes boys from the age of 13 and has 25 boarding houses, each accommodating roughly 55 pupils under the supervision of residential staff led by a house master.
George’s time at Eton is expected to give him some protection from the intense public attention that has surrounded him since birth. His father had previously spoken about enjoying the opportunity to experience school life as an ordinary pupil.
“I’ve really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student,” William said in June 2000, according to the BBC.
Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of the Good Schools Guide, told the BBC that despite its historic surroundings, Eton had a “progressive outlook”.
She noted that while most 13-year-olds arriving at the school could not know what their adult lives would look like, George faced a very different future. His parents, she said, had an unusually wide choice of schools and had decided that an Eton education was the right preparation for his future as a working royal.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
