Prince George Has Left Home for Eton, and His Mother Says She Misses Him

The Princess of Wales has said she misses her son, Prince George, who now lives at Eton College as a full-time boarder. A boarder is a pupil who sleeps at the school during term rather than at home.

Hello Magazine reported the remarks from a visit the Princess made to Café 98 in Hoveton, Norfolk. She was there as patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices, known as EACH, the charity that runs the café's shop. During the visit she said she had missed George.

Denise Ashton, 68, met the Princess that day and told Hello: "She said she's looking forward to George coming home - she's missed him." Hello also reported an exchange with a child who said it was his last day before half-term. The Princess replied: "My children break up tomorrow and I can't wait to have them all home."

George started at Eton on 8 September 2026. His parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, took him to the school on a rainy morning, according to the BBC. The Princess wore an olive green dress for the occasion. People reported that his sister Princess Charlotte and brother Prince Louis did not make the trip. George is the grandson of King Charles, as Reuters noted when he began at the school.

Before Eton, George boarded part-time at Lambrook School. At Eton he is a full-time boarder, which means he lives away from his family for the whole of each term. He has a study-bedroom of his own, so he does not share a room with other pupils. Boarders at Eton had their first "short leave", a weekend break away from the school, from 2 to 4 October.

The school breaks up this Friday, 23 October. George is not due back until 9 November. Until then, the Princess's words to the child at the café suggest the household is counting down the days like any other family with a term-time schoolboy.

What stands out is how ordinary the details are. A room of his own, a short break in the first term, and a family that drove him to the gates and then wished he were home. Most families with a boy at boarding school will know that mix of pride and empty chairs.