Sept. 8, 2026

Prince George Starts Eton as Archie and Lilibet's School Faces Strict Privacy Rules

Show Notes
Transcript

Prince George begins a major new chapter at Eton College, putting Prince William’s carefully cultivated image as a modern, relatable future King under fresh scrutiny. At the same time, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are reportedly starting school in Britain, with parents reminded of strict rules protecting children from photographs, social media posts and unwanted attention as Meghan’s concerns about the school run resurface. Plus, questions are raised about Queen Camilla’s sister receiving consultancy work from the King’s Foundation, the monarchy’s core public funding is set to rise to nearly one hundred million pounds, and one financial expert calculates that Harry and Meghan’s UK return could potentially generate millions in British taxes.

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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,

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Mark Francis. Newsweek's Jack Royston argues that Prince William's carefully

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cultivated image as a relatively normal, accessible future king is

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about to face two significant tests, beginning with Prince George's

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start at Eton College. George, who is 13, is following

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the same path as his father. Eton is one of

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Britain's most prestigious and tradition-heavy schools. where even the terminology

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can sound like something from another century. Teachers are known

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as beaks, the autumn term is micklemas, and students wear

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tailcoats and waistcoats as part of the school uniform. Eaton

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has educated 20 British Prime Ministers, as well as Nobel

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Prize winners, Oscar winners and generations of Britain's elite. Royston

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says that makes George's arrival there an interesting contrast with

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the public image William has spent years developing. William and

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Catherine have repeatedly emphasised the ordinary parts of their family life,

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from school runs to sporting events and the effort to

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give George, Charlotte and Louis as normal a childhood as

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circumstances allow. But there is nothing particularly ordinary about Eton.

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Newsweek notes that annual fees are around $ 85, 000. Royston's argument

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is that the decision nevertheless exposes one of the unavoidable

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contradictions of William's position. He may want to present himself

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as a modern, relatable father and future monarch, but his

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son is still being educated inside one of the most

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exclusive institutions in Britain. And George's move is only one

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of the challenges to that image. The larger problem for

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William is that, however successfully he presents himself as an

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ordinary husband and father, the closer he gets to the throne,

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the harder that image becomes to sustain. He is not

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simply raising three children in Windsor. He is raising the

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next generation of the monarchy, including a boy who is

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expected one day to become king. As Royston puts it,

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George is entering the rarefied world of one of Britain's

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most internationally famous boarding schools. The question for William is

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whether the public sees that simply as a future king

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following family tradition, or as another reminder that the monarchy's

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version of normal has always been rather different from everyone else's.

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As the school year gets underway, parents at a private

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school in the Cotswolds have reportedly been reminded about strict

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privacy rules as Prince Archie and Prince Lilibet prepare to

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begin school in Britain. Page Six reports that families received

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a message from school officials addressing the possibility that some

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incoming pupils... could attract unusually intense media attention. The school

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has not been identified, and Page Six says it is

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withholding the name for privacy reasons. Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield

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told Page Six, The message sent to families essentially said

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that from time to time, some families joining the school

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may attract a greater level of public or media interest.

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According to Schofield, parents were reminded that the school wants

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every child to be able to attend in a safe,

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happy and private environment. Families were also reportedly not to

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photograph or film other children without permission and not to

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post information, photographs or details about pupils and their families

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on social media. Megan is reportedly concerned about what the

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school run will look like, reviving an issue she raised

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publicly several years ago. During her 2022 interview with The Cut,

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Megan discussed the difference between raising Archie in California and

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what she believed family life would have been like in Britain.

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She told journalist Alison P. Davis that She wanted to

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be able to take her son to school without being

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surrounded by photographers. Now that the Sussexes have returned to Britain,

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and Archie and Lilibet are preparing to attend school here,

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Royal commentator Robert Jobson says Meghan's concerns don't reflect the

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way the British media currently handles royal children. This is

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nonsense because there are self-governing rules here, and there's no

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way there could be loads of paparazzi there. This nonsense,

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and it is nonsense, is based upon maybe stuff that

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Harry told her about when he was a kid. This

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is part of the system. Now they're going to do

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the play game. Oh, I'm worried about the school run.

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I'm worried about the school run. Look, he knew about

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the school before he came here, about the security. Jobson

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pointed to Prince William and Catherine as an example. Their

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children have generally been allowed to arrive and leave school

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without a daily gathering of photographers. Photographs released around significant moments,

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such as a child's first day at a new school,

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are normally organized rather than the result of photographers routinely

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waiting outside. More palace in just a moment. In The Royalist,

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Tom Sykes took a shot at His Majesty, writing, Annabelle Elliot,

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Queen Camilla's younger sister, is reportedly being paid by the

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King's Foundation, His Majesty's flagship charity, for branding and retail consultancy,

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according to British newspaper The Sunday Times. The exact amount

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is unknown, but the role has come about after Prince William,

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upon taking over the Duchy of Cornwall on his father's accession,

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promptly removed Elliot from its payroll, where she had collected

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hundreds of thousands of pounds over two decades, advising Charles

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on interiors. The issue isn't Elliot's ability, but the arrogance

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of how King Charles appears to have disregarded ethical norms

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in getting his sister-in-law remunerated by a charity without any

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parent oversight. The King's operating principle has always been, do

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what you like, ignore advice, and treat inconvenient safeguards as impertinences.

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King Charles and the royal household are said to receive Â£ 99. 9

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million in core annual funding for the 2027-28 financial year,

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the House of Commons has approved a new funding formula

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recommended by the Royal Trustees, clearing the way for the

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Sovereign Grant Bill. The legislation will establish how much public

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money supports the monarchy's official work, including staff, travel and

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the upkeep of occupied royal residences. The core grant has

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risen sharply. It stood at Â£ 51 million in 2024-25, increased

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to Â£ 72 million the following year and the proposed Â£ 99. 9

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The million-pound figure represents another rise of almost Â£ 28 million.

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The sovereign grant is connected to the profits generated by

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the Crown Estate, a large property portfolio whose net revenue

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is paid to the Treasury. Under the revised arrangements, the

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grant will represent approximately 20.5% of Crown Estate profits compared

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with 12% under the previous formula. Explaining the increase in

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core funding, Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson said, that reflects this

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bottom-up assessment that has taken place. looking across the needs

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of the royal household, and making sure that it is

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being funded adequately for the work, for the public duties,

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that His Royal Highness the King and the royal family

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carry out. And it is worth pointing out, of course,

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that those activities have increased significantly in recent years. Towards

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the end of her reign, the late Queen was not

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carrying out a large number of foreign engagements, and also

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was hosting a smaller number of state visits. The King

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has increased the engagements that he is carrying out on

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our behalf as part of his public duties. and that

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has involved more expenditure in terms of staff costs, and

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making sure that those engagements and the benefits that, in

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terms of the representation of our country and supporting good

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causes here in the UK, can get the funding and

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support that they need. Harry and Meghan's return to Britain

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could potentially bring millions of pounds into the Treasury, according

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to one financial expert, although the numbers depend heavily on

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how the couple structure their finances and how long they

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remain in the UK. Michelle Teague, founder of Sci-Fi Money

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estimates that Harry and Meghan earned about Â£ 9 million in 2025.

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If they become UK tax residents, she calculates that their

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British tax bill could potentially reach between Â£ 3 and Â£ 4

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million a year. That estimate comes with some important variables,

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including foreign earnings and the corporate structures through which the

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Sussexes receive income. Meghan also remains an American citizen, meaning

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she generally continues filing US federal tax returns on her

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worldwide income. However, mechanisms designed to prevent double taxation can

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reduce the possibility of paying full tax twice on the

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same income. A much harder calculation involves security. Harry currently

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receives protection based on the circumstances rather than the automatic

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security arrangements he enjoyed as a working royal. Taghi estimates

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that policing and protection could potentially cost British taxpayers between

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One in three million pounds annually, although that figure is

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speculative and would depend on the actual protection arrangements and

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the assessment of the family's security needs. Taghi also raises

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the possibility of a broader economic benefit from increased tourism

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and international attention, but that is even harder to quantify.

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Americans already contribute billions to Britain's tourism economy, and there

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is no reliable way yet to determine whether the Sussexes

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moving back will significantly increase those numbers. And there you

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have it. If you'd like to email us, our address

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is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com. If you're on Spotify, leave us

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free for just five bucks a month. We appreciate your support.

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I'm Mark Francis. Many thanks to John McTermott. This is

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Palace Intrigue. Good to have you.

Prince George Starts Eton as Archie and Lilibet's School Faces Strict Privacy Rules

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