Prince George, 4-year-old heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, set off for his first day of prep school today. He looked frankly skeptical about the whole business and who can blame him? Who among us wouldn’t prefer to stay at home in our cozy bedroom at a literal palace, surrounded by faithful and adoring retainers?
But you can’t spend your entire childhood refusing to high-five Justin Trudeau, kid—even in this day and age, a royal must at least be able to count to ten.
The Guardian reports dryly: “The third in line to the throne arrived for his first day at £18,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea, where he will learn to ‘be kind,’ acquire ‘confidence, leadership and humility,’ and not have a best friend to prevent other children having hurt feelings.” He will apparently be known as George Cambridge; “Morning snacks include organic milk, freshly baked pain aux raisins and wholewheat breadsticks.” The curriculum ranges from math to art to French to “understanding the world,” but of course, at £18,000 annually, you’re looking for more than just facts and figures.
From The Guardian:
Ben Thomas, principal of Thomas’s London Day School, who was headteacher at Thomas’s Battersea for 18 years, said he hoped George would learn to be himself.
“The whole aim of these precious early years of education is to give children that confidence in who they are. So we are not going to try and mould him into any kind of particular person and we wouldn’t do that with any of our pupils.
“I hope he will have the confidence to be himself with all his quirks and his idiosyncrasies and characteristics.”
The BBC notes that in comparison to William’s first day of school, when he faced a big crowd of photographers, the Cambridges wrangled it down to just one photographer and one camera crew. And if you think George’s outfit is a tad comical, get a load of what William and Harry had to wear.
His mother did not accompany because she was indisposed, presumably puking her guts up, poor woman.