Royal fans took one look at the new photos and said the same thing.
Prince George’s first official portraits in his Eton College uniform dropped this week, and the resemblance to his father hit hard. The 13-year-old future king stands in the black tailcoat, waistcoat, pinstripe trousers and stiff white collar that generations of Eton boys have worn. Side-by-side comparisons with Prince William’s own school photos from nearly 30 years earlier flooded social media almost immediately.
On September 8, 2026, George arrived at the historic Berkshire boarding school with his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales. The family walked through the rainy School Yard. Headmaster Simon Henderson greeted the teenager with a simple welcome and good wishes. Kensington Palace then released the formal portraits taken by longtime family photographer Matt Porteous.
The Detail Everyone Noticed
In the images, George smiles, sometimes with hands in pockets, sometimes standing near the school’s historic arches and columns. Commenters zeroed in on the posture, the smile, and the overall look. “Like father, like son,” one user wrote next to a split image of William and George on their first days at Eton. Others called the resemblance “incredible” even across three decades.
The uniform itself creates the strongest visual link. William attended Eton from 1995 into the early 2000s. Prince Harry followed a few years later. George now continues the family path at the same institution that has educated British prime ministers and members of the royal family for centuries.
A Quieter Start Than His Father’s
William’s own first day in 1995 drew a larger media presence. George’s arrival stayed more controlled. A limited press pool covered the drop-off. Palace aides released the portraits to mark the moment without turning the entire day into a spectacle. Sources close to the family have previously noted that William and Catherine want their son to experience as normal a school life as possible inside the royal bubble.
George had turned 13 in July. The move to full boarding marks a clear step into teenage independence. Eton houses roughly 1,300 boys across multiple boarding houses. Each house is a smaller community with residential staff. The school sits close enough to the family’s Windsor home that the transition still keeps him near, yet far enough for real distance from daily royal life.
What We Know
George started at Eton College on September 8, 2026.
Official portraits in full school uniform were released the same day by Kensington Palace.
Photographer Matt Porteous captured the images.
Fans and media immediately compared them to Prince William’s Eton photos from the 1990s.
Some portraits were taken in locations previously used for William’s own school-era images.
William and Catherine accompanied their son on the rainy first morning.
Headmaster Simon Henderson personally welcomed George.
The school remains one of Britain’s most prestigious independent boarding institutions.
Why This Matters
Americans watching the British royal family often connect with these moments because they feel familiar. A parent dropping a child at a new school. A teenager growing up in public. The quiet pride mixed with the knowledge that the next chapter will look different. For George, the stakes sit higher than most. He is second in line to the throne. These years at Eton will shape the man who one day becomes king.
The portraits do more than show a boy in a fancy uniform. They freeze the exact second the next generation steps into the same tradition his father once entered. The “like father, like son” comments keep coming because the photos deliver something rare in royal coverage: a clear, almost ordinary human echo across three decades.
George is no longer the little boy in the family photos. In the black tailcoat and stiff collar, he already looks ready for the path ahead.