Prince George will begin a new educational phase of his life when he starts at Eton College in September, and one important school rule will already be familiar to him! The eldest son of Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton, who turned 13 on July 22, will attend the historic boarding school under a policy that does not allow first-year students to have smartphones.
Instead, Year 9 students receive basic mobile phones that only allow calls and text messages, keeping contact with families while avoiding direct Internet access. The school introduced the policy after reviewing how technology affects pupils and affirmed that the goal is to balance the benefits and challenges of digital devices in education. Meanwhile, Prince George is expected to join classes in September, following in the footsteps of his father, who also studied at Eton College.
Happy 13th Birthday, George! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/HjLZO3hl5Q
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 22, 2026
The school phone rules reflect the same strict thoughts already in place at home for the young royal. Prince William has previously explained that he and Princess Kate do not allow Prince George, Princess Charlotte, or Prince Louis to own smartphones. During an appearance on the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler in 2025, the father of three told actor Eugene Levy that the family is very strict about smartphones. Later, during a visit to Brazil for the Earthshot Prize in November 2025, he admitted that protecting children from the risks of social media remains one of the biggest challenges parents face today.
“Our children don’t have phones. I think when George moves on to secondary school, then maybe he might have a phone that has no internet access,” The Prince of Wales said. “And to be honest, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a little bit of a, like, tense issue,” he revealed during the Earthshot Prize awards last year.
“But I think he understands why,” Prince William continued. “We communicate why we don’t think it’s right. And again, I think it’s the internet access I have a problem with. I think children can access too much stuff they don’t need to see online, and so having a phone and text message, the old sort of ‘brick phone’ as they call them, I think that’s fine,” he shared.
