Prince William – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are ditching royal formality for simplicity at school, using their father’s official title as a surname among their peers.
When the school bell rings at Lambrook Prep in Berkshire, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales are treated like any other students. They aren’t addressed by their formal royal styles; instead, they are known simply as George Wales, Charlotte Wales, and Louis Wales.
This shift to a common surname is a quiet effort by Prince William and Kate Middleton to keep their children’s lives as grounded as possible. The choice is a direct reflection of their parents’ titles. which were granted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. The siblings follow a long-standing tradition within the family: during their own schooling. William and Prince Harry used ‘Wales’ as their surname. borrowing from their father’s former title. Before the recent change. the children utilized ‘Cambridge’ at their previous schools. mirroring their parents’ former standing as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Charlotte and Louis currently attend the Berkshire prep school, located near the family’s home at Forest Lodge. For Prince George, however, the landscape has shifted again. He has transitioned to Eton, where his parents accompanied him for his first day. He now resides in one of the campus’s 25 boarding houses.
The use of these surnames underscores a tension between historic royal identity and the practical realities of modern education. Royal family members typically do not use a surname at all. opting instead for their title. name. and the designation of His or Her Royal Highness. Officially. male-line descendants of Queen Victoria are known by the name Windsor. a declaration made by George V in 1917 and maintained after the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.
Yet, the family dynamic is nuanced. The late Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh sought to distinguish their direct descendants from the broader House of Windsor. leading to the declaration that certain descendants would carry the name Mountbatten-Windsor. Despite these complex formal designations. the choice to go by ‘Wales’ in the classroom acts as a simplified bridge. allowing the children to navigate their school years with a semblance of normalcy.
Prince William Kate Middleton Prince George Princess Charlotte Prince Louis Royal Family Lambrook Prep Eton