The Prince and Princess of Wales's children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, are among the thousands of youngsters to return to their classrooms this week after the summer holidays. The royal siblings attend Lambrook Prep School in Berkshire, with George starting his final year ahead of his school move next summer.
While George, Charlotte and Louis have always had royal titles from birth, they don't actually use these at school. Instead the royal children are known simply as George Wales, Charlotte Wales and Louis Wales to their school friends, in a nod to their parents' titles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, which they were given following Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.
When William and Kate were known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, their children used Cambridge as a last name at their previous schools. This was also the case for Prince William and Prince Harry, who took on their father Charles's former title Wales as their surname when they were at school.
© Getty ImagesGeorge, Charlotte and Louis, who spent part of their summer on their grandfather King Charles's Scottish estate, Balmoral, will now be in Year 8, Year 6 and Year 3 respectively at school.
Which school the Wales will choose for their firstborn has already been the subject of much speculation. Will they follow tradition and send him to William's alma mater, Eton, or will they follow a less conventional route and send him to a day school like Highgate?
To shed light on the matter, The HELLO! Royal Club's Millie spoke to Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of The Good Schools Guide, who shared her thoughts on the reported shortlist and exclusively revealed the school she backs as being the best of option for George.
Royal family's surname
Members of the royal family often do not use a surname, they're simply known by their title, name and His or Her Royal Highness. But the royal family's website states: "At a meeting of the Privy Council on 17 July 1917, George V declared that 'all descendants in the male line of Queen Victoria, who are subjects of these realms, other than female descendants who marry or who have married, shall bear the name of Windsor'."
The royal family continued to use Windsor after Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952, however she decided with her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the royal family - without changing the name of the Royal House.
It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.
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© James Veysey/ShutterstockThe Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, became the first royal to use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor following her birth in 2003. The university student is often listed as Louise Mountbatten-Windsor when she competes in carriage driving competitions.
Before being able to use their royal titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children were known as Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. Since the accession of their grandfather, King Charles, in 2022, the youngsters have been entitled to use the title prince and princess as the child of a son of the monarch, as laid out by the letters patent issued to King George V in 1917. In March 2023, Prince Harry and Meghan confirmed that Archie and Lilibet's titles would be used in formal settings, but not in everyday conversation.
