Prince George can’t contain his giggles over Prince William’s Eton drop-off mishap

While the first day of school is often fraught with nerves, the Prince of Wales managed to make his son and heir to the British throne, Prince George, laugh as he dropped him off on his first day at Eton College on Tuesday.

George is following in the footsteps of his father, William and his uncle, the Duke of Sussex, who both attended Eton College, but the Prince’s big day was met with a heavy downpour. 

While the Princess of Wales stepped out flawlessly under the cover of an umbrella, it was William’s umbrella antics that got George giggling. 

As the trio stepped out and onto the Berkshire institution’s historic quadrangle, William’s umbrella turned entirely inside out, causing him to abandon the use of his brolly and proceed to get wet in the downpour as they made their way across campus. 

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George’s first day

Upon arriving with his royal parents, George was greeted by Eton’s head master, Simon Henderson, who told the future king: “Welcome, good luck, enjoy it.”

Kate was ever the doting mother during the interaction, and placed a hand on his back during the greetings with senior staff

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As well as its royal alumnae, Eton’s roll call of famous past students includes actors Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Eddie Redmayne, a large number of prime ministers including Lord David Cameron, writers George Orwell and Ian Fleming, and adventurer Bear Grylls.

George arrived wearing dark trousers, a jacket, shirt and tie and is expected to change into “school dress”, a uniform standardised in the 1960s of a black tailcoat, waistcoat and pinstriped trousers, with a stiff white collar.

A big change for George

While his arrival at boarding school marks a big change for George, he won’t be far from his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, who live at the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge, a stone’s throw from the renowned school in Windsor. 

Melanie Sanderson, the managing editor of the Good Schools guide, previously told HELLO!: “You can see Eton College from Windsor Castle. So that would be lovely for George to be able to pop home

“And the boys now are allowed a little bit of freedom to pop in and out of school at the weekends, to come home for Sunday lunch or tea on a Saturday evening after their sports fixtures.”