Prince Harry Recalls Learning All the Eton College Lingo That Prince George Will Soon Use

Stephanie PetitFri, August 7, 2026 at 12:34 PM UTC

0

Prince Harry; Prince GeorgeCredit: Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty; The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram -

Prince George will start at Eton College this fall and has to learn the school’s unique vocabulary

Prince Harry recalled his “shock” at starting at Eton in 1998, including needing to figure out his uniform and “a long list of new words and phrases”

Eton College even has a “Glossary” of school-specific terms on its website

When Prince George starts at Eton College this fall, he’ll have to learn a whole new language.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s eldest son, who turned 13 on July 22, is heading to Eton College in September. George is following in his father’s footsteps by attending his alma mater, where Prince Harry also was a student.

Prince Harry, now 41, began at Eton College in 1998, three years after his older brother and one year after Princess Diana‘s death. In his 2023 memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex called his start at the school “a profound shock.”

“Shock must’ve been part of its original charter, even perhaps a part of the instructions given to its first architects by the school’s founder, my ancestor Henry VI. He deemed Eton some sort of holy shrine, a sacred temple, and to that end he wanted it to overwhelm the senses, so visitors would feel like meek, abased pilgrims,” Harry wrote. “In my case, mission accomplished.”

In addition to figuring out the school’s trademark uniform, with Prince Harry saying in Spare that he “didn’t even know how to get dressed in the morning,” Eton came with learning “a long list of new words and phrases.”

Prince Harry on his first day at Eton College on Sept. 3, 1998Credit: David Levenson/Getty

“Classes were no longer classes: they were divs. Teachers were no longer teachers: they were beaks. Cigarettes were tabbage...Chambers was the mid-morning meeting of the beaks, when they discussed the students, especially the problem students. I often felt my ears burning during Chambers,” Harry wrote.

Eton College is well aware of its school-specific lingo, and it even has a “Glossary” of terms on its official website.

Prince George will join F Block (his class year, known as Year 9 at other U.K. schools), eat Dinner (which is actually lunch) and have to find time to do Extra Work or EW (homework) when he starts at Eton.

Advertisement

Eton College photographed in 2024Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty

Prince Harry’s start at Eton College also came with a tough blow, as he claimed Prince William requested that he “pretend I didn’t know him,” explaining that Eton had become his sanctuary.

“He was forging his own life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up,” Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir.

Prince Harry said in Spare that he decided that sports would be his “thing” at Eton, with a particular fondness for rugby.

“Sport held me together,” he told Time in June. “I was one of those kids at school who did not enjoy classroom work. If it wasn’t for the sports field and the amount of sports that were on offer, there’s no way I would have stayed in school.”

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Prince Harry at Eton College in 2003Credit: Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty

Founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, Eton is an all-boys boarding school that has educated generations of leaders, including 20 British prime ministers.

While Prince William and Princess Kate explored many options for Prince George’s next step in schooling, a source close to the family recently told PEOPLE, “George has always wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps.”

“Yes, Eton stands for tradition, but it has moved with the times and now has a more diverse student body than it had—even in William’s day,” says royal author Sally Bedell Smith. “I think their decision hinges on the school’s academic excellence and the many ways it develops its students for leadership roles.”

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”