It’s Emilia Wickstead for Prince George’s First Day at Eton

The Princess of Wales wore Emilia Wickstead as she and Prince William accompanied Prince George to his first day at Eton College.

It was a rainy morning at the school in Berkshire, located about ten minutes from the Wales family home in Windsor.

More about the school from this CNN piece.

Eton College, located in the English county of Berkshire a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle, educates boys aged 13 to 18 and accepts around 270 students per academic year. Students live on campus in its 25 dormitories. Each boarding house has around 55 students and is led by a house master.

It is one of Britain’s most famous and prestigious fee-paying schools, with a notable list of alumni that also includes celebrities and 20 of the country’s 59 prime ministers.

Former Conservative prime ministers Boris Johnson, who led the UK from 2019 to 2022, and David Cameron, who was in office from 2010 to 2016, are both former students.

Other famous Old Etonians include actors Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redmayne.

A video of the trio arriving, posted by Lizzie Robinson of ITV.

Prince George has arrived for his first day at Eton College. The 13-year-old, who is following in his father’s footsteps, was accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were met by the headteacher Simon Henderson and Provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge. pic.twitter.com/BnKxi4O46L

— Lizzie Robinson (@LizzieITV) September 8, 2026

We learn more about the setting from this piece in The Times by Phin Hubbard.

Eton has its own language and its own traditions, and rather like Harry Potter’s first few weeks at Hogwarts, new boys take a while to understand it, as I did when I started on a scholarship in 2016.

Each house has a “dame”, Eton’s word for a matron, who will regularly pop in for a chat with George and the other F-Blockers. Dames notice if their wards have dirt behind their ears or if they look under-slept and ask how they are doing twice: first, so the kid can give the cursory, automatic: “I’m fine, thanks! You?” and a second time for the inevitable: “Well, there is this one thing…”

Then George’s “uncle” (no, not him) and his “timelord” will make themselves known to the prince. Both boys are in the same house, in older years, and are effectively his buddy and mentor for the first few weeks.

Who can forget the photos of Prince George’s first day of nursery school in January 2016?

Or his first day at Thomas’s Battersea in 2017?

And here he is today, being greeted by headmaster Simon Henderson and Provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge, who is chair of the school’s governing body.

The family emerged from the arch beneath Lupton’s Tower, the 16th-century gatehouse clock tower, and walked across the cobbled Yard. He and his parents strode briskly through Eton College’s historic quadrangle – known to pupils as School Yard – in the heavy rain.

‘George welcome, good luck, enjoy,’ Mr Henderson smiled. He then shook hands with Catherine before the provost introduced himself and they exchanged a few pleasantries.

After the welcome, George, William and Catherine were shown into the fourth-form passage in the original school building, which is understood to house the world’s oldest classroom.

Like other families, the couple will help George settle into his new bedroom. Pupils from other years will return to Eton when the school starts tomorrow.

Kensington Palace released three photos of the new student, shot by Matt Porteous. Below, Prince William on his first day at Eton in September 1995.

More on the uniform from this People article.

While Prince George wore “home clothes” for the official greeting, new photos were released shortly after his arrival showing the royal sporting Eton’s distinct uniform. Matt Porteous, a photographer who regularly gets behind the camera for official images of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ family, snapped the three images of George posing in his uniform for the first time.

Like his father before him, George will adhere to the dress code during his time at the prestigious all-boys boarding school: a black tailcoat, waistcoat, pin-striped trousers and a stiff white collar.

Another photo taken by Mr. Porteous.

We return to the Daily Mail piece.

He is likely to be joined by a number of friends from Lambrook, the co-educational prep school in Berkshire he has attended with his siblings in recent years.

It also helps that William has genuinely fond memories of his own time there.

In an interview to mark his 18th birthday and imminent graduation from Eton, the heir spoke of how he had enjoyed attending Eton as ‘just another student’ and even admitted he’d ‘always liked the uniform’.

He also spoke of how much he had appreciated the support of staff such as his housemaster, Dr Gailey.

Below you see photos of the Prince of Wales shortly before his graduation from Eton in June 2000, and Prince George today.

We now turn to our look at what Kate wore today, beginning with her bespoke Emilia Wickstead midi-length dress.

The design is similar to the Emilia Wickstead ‘Kate’ dress worn to the Anna Freud Center in 2019, with a squared neckline, defined waistband, and contouring darts.

Initially, it looked like the same dress worn when the Prince and Princess welcomed Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel to Windsor Castle in November 2023, seen below right. But when you compare the dresses side by side, the color appears different, with the 2023 dress having more blue than today’s garment.

The Princess accessorized today ~~with her Gianvito 85 Pumps ($850) in brown suede with a 3.5″ heel~~. UPDATE SEP. 9: A friend pointed out that it looks like the Princess was wearing her Russell and Bromley ‘Pinpoint’ pumps, rather than the Gianvito Rossi pair, and I think she is correct.

She repeated her Cartier Trinity Earrings ($3850) and brought back her Laura Lombardi Portrait Necklace ($192), a chain-link design in 14K gold-plated brass.

I will leave you with one more photo from today.

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Christine Muehling

Thursday 10th of September 2026

I really loved the color of this dress today. It looked blue green or possibly spruce green. If it was raining heavily, I was wondering why Kate wasn't wearing a Burberry rain coat (trench coat). This repeated style is a classic and I imagine that Kate feels very comfortable in it. She can just request a new color be made. I like the shoes and jewelry.

ElizaMo

Catherine always looks so well in this colour and the deep tone of the Wickstead adds a regal maturity to her look as mother of a future king. The style of the dress is elegant and feminine with its neat self-belt and full flared skirt. The Princess looks very well and it is so good to see her continuing in better health.

The Laura Lombardi necklace is quite chunky for a relatively high neckline, but adds to the regal tone Catherine conveys. I always love seeing the Cartier Trinity Earrings, they also remain elegant, charming, and subdued.

Catherine’s hair looks beautifully waved and the green Russell and Bromley pumps add an appropriate uniform theme with the dress. My own school uniform in Windsor was a dark green and my family was friends with one of the matrons in Eton College and I used to visit her in these grounds. It all seems familiar to see again.

@ElizaMo, My bad, the Russell & Bromley's are brown not green. With the dark stockings the sober, mature theme is strong

karen

this style of dress looks very good on Catherine, so I can understand why she has repeated versions of it. I would have like to see her wearing black patent leather shoe instead of the brown she wore. also, I like the photo of her with her chestnut brown hair. I don't think her current color does much for her. to me she is a true brunette.

Ava

Wednesday 9th of September 2026

This look is incredible! It is so reminiscent of the POW early years…it is youthful, and yet sophisticated to the core! Catherine looks absolutely stunning, her makeup is also beautifully done! Prince George has grown so much since we last saw him this summer. A beautiful family on a momentous day that will be one for the history books!

Rooney K

I like this green better than the 2019 shade, and I love the gold necklace. As several have said, this is perhaps not the most interesting of outfits, but it is perfect for a rainy day where the focus is on George. In the US, relatively few students are sent away to school before college, and I can't imagine dealing with such a huge change at that age (either as the parent or as the child). I realize that "boarding school" is the norm for George's social class, but I'm sure it is still wrenching for Catherine.

@Bobby, In the US, very few young people go away to boarding school prior to college. The very posh people, mostly, are the ones who send their children to high school (13--18) at a boarding school. Most of these schools are located in the Northeast. The Kennedy children went to boarding school, for example. It's very expensive and most of us are saving to send our children to college at 18. Sending a child away at 8 seems very barbaric to us, but recently it was noted that Jack Brooksbank, Eugenie's husband, was sent away to school at age 8. This practice seems to be an English thing. In the baby boom generation and before, some boys were sent away to military school, particularly if they were getting into trouble in their hometown. Now most of those have closed. There is also the cost aspect. Middle class and working class people are just trying to provide their families with the basics, and that is most of the country. Perhaps in rich enclaves on the west and east coasts, people send their children to private schools (tuition expensive), but they don't spend the night. No dorms. I live in the Midwest in a mid-size public university city. We have excellent free public schools, as opposed to private schools which charge a hefty tuition. Hope this explanation helps.

Bonnie

Rooney K, I hear you about sending a 13 year old off to boarding school, however, Eton is less than four miles (6.4 kms) from Forest Lodge, Windsor, where his family lives. When William attended Eton, he visited Queen Elizabeth most weekends. Therefore George will be able to also see his family on weekends. It will still be an adjustment, although it is not like he will go months being away from family. Charles was very homesick attending Gordonstoun, in Scotland. I looked it up and the distance is 575 miles (925 km) from London. George will enjoy a far better situation.

Bobby

@Rooney K, That's what I was thinking!! She's clearly an adoring mother, it has to be a huge wrench! I'm not sure I get the differences between the UK and the US re boarding school. Anyone have any thoughts?