Britain's 12-year-old Prince George to go to prestigious Eton College

LONDON- Britain's Prince George, the 12-year old grandson of King Charles, will follow in the footsteps of his father and attend the prestigious Eton College later this year, Kensington Palace said on Tuesday.

George's father, the heir to the throne Prince William, and his uncle Prince Harry also both attended Eton, one of Britain's most elite schools, which is located close to the monarch's Windsor Castle, west of London.

"Kensington Palace can confirm that Prince George will attend Eton College from this September," William's office said in a statement.

Fees for the all boys boarding school are about £63,000 ($84,552) a year.

Currently George, the second in line to the throne, attends the private Lambrook School with his sister Charlotte and brother Louis near Windsor where the family have a home.

William was the first royal to attend Eton, as Charles went to Gordonstoun, the same private school on the north coast of Scotland that his own father Prince Philip had attended, but found life there hard.

William has said he enjoyed his time at the school and recently revealed he would often pop over to Windsor Castle at weekends to have tea with his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

Eton, founded in 1440, has long been the alma mater for many of the country's elite, and has educated 20 British prime ministers, including Boris Johnson and David Cameron, as well as actors Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis and Tom Hiddleston.

It retains many traditions, with pupils wearing tailcoats, waistcoats and gowns, and referring to teachers as "beaks".

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

-Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, writing by Sarah Young; editing by Michael Holden/Reuters