Prince George will join Eton College in September, attending the Berkshire boarding school his father once did. The school — which costs about $85,000 a year — has produced 20 British prime ministers and many leading figures in acting, literature, science and economics. Eton’s alumni network is influential and sometimes controversial for concentrating power and opportunity among those with shared educational backgrounds. For George, admission is both academic and social, offering lifelong connections that may shape his future role.
Prince George to Join Eton: How the School’s Famous Alumni Shaped Britain’s Politics and Culture
Prince George and Princess Charlotte during the carriage procession at Trooping The Colour, in London, on June 13, 2026.
Prince George, 12, will begin at Eton College in September, following in the footsteps of his father, Prince William. The historic Berkshire boarding school — which charges roughly $85,000 a year and sits near the royal residence Forest Lodge in Windsor — has long been a training ground for influential figures across politics, the arts and sciences.
Boarding at Eton can be a formative and sometimes jarring experience even for royals. As Prince Harry wrote in his memoir Spare, the school was "a profound shock." Yet its corridors have also been walked by dozens of people who went on to shape public life in Britain and beyond.
Politics: A Disproportionate Influence
Eton’s most visible legacy is political: the college has educated 20 British prime ministers. Recent examples include David Cameron and Boris Johnson, whose successive roles reshaped the UK’s recent trajectory. Cameron, elected in 2010, pursued austerity policies and later called the 2016 referendum on EU membership. Johnson led the country from 2019 to 2022, steering the Brexit process and resigning amid the fallout from the “Partygate” controversy. Earlier Etonians who became prime ministers include Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan.
This concentration of graduates in government has long prompted criticism that shared schooling helps perpetuate networks of power that stretch from classroom ties into Westminster and the senior ranks of public service.
Arts, Literature and Media
Eton’s influence extends beyond politics into acting, writing and broadcasting. Notable alumni include actors Hugh Laurie (House), Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Homeland), Tom Hiddleston (Loki; The Night Manager), Eddie Redmayne (Oscar winner for The Theory of Everything) and Dominic West (The Wire; who later portrayed Prince Charles in The Crown).
Literary figures from Eton include George Orwell (1984, Animal Farm), Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond) and Aldous Huxley (Brave New World). Through novels, journalism and broadcasting, these alumni have helped frame public conversations about British identity and culture.
Science and Economics
The school’s alumni also feature leading thinkers in economics and science. John Maynard Keynes attended Eton from 1897 to 1902 before developing Keynesian economics. Nobel laureate Sir John Gurdon did pioneering work on cell reprogramming in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and physicist John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) made foundational discoveries, including work related to argon.
What It Means for Prince George
For Prince George, Eton will offer more than classroom instruction: it represents entry into an enduring social network where relationships formed in adolescence can follow people throughout their careers. While there is no guarantee he or his contemporaries will attain the prominence of the school’s most famous alumni, those connections could be valuable for navigating the intersections of monarchy, politics, charity, media and the arts.
“A profound shock.” — Prince Harry on his experience boarding at Eton (from Spare).
Whether viewed as a cradle of leadership or a symbol of entrenched privilege, Eton remains one of Britain’s most influential institutions — and Prince George’s arrival will renew interest in how public life and private schooling intersect.
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