William Takes George to His First Day of School

Prince George looked very snappy for his first day of school; he was accompanied by his father, the Duke of Cambridge.

As feared, the Duchess was simply too ill to accompany them so William did solo drop-off duty on George’s big day. Kate continues to cope with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. The condition causes severe nausea, vomiting, dehydration and other serious, sometimes life-threatening problems. When expecting George the Duchess had to be hospitalized for treatment. There are reports Kate was treated at a hospital while visiting Balmoral last month. More from a Kensington Palace statement:

Unfortunately the Duchess of Cambridge remains unwell, and will not be able to accompany Prince George on his first day of school. The Duke of Cambridge will drop off Prince George this morning as planned.

A look at the scene this morning.

From The Guardian’s story:

A crowd of well-wishers had gathered outside the school gate to watch. The young prince arrived shortly before 8.50am and was driven through a side entrance and a security gate closed behind them.

From The Telegraph’s coverage:

Holding his father’s hand for reassurance, he glanced up only once as he walked across the car park, with the Duke appearing to give him a cheery pep talk along the way.

Showing diplomatic skills already practiced in his overseas Royal tours, the Prince took the outstretched hand of Helen Haslem, head of Thomas’ lower school, and shook it politely.

William chatted with his son as they approached the school, perhaps helping to minimize any apprehension or anxiety George might have been experiencing.

Rebecca English shared this video of the trio entering the school.

Video 2: Prince George arrives hand in hand with his father Prince William at Thomas’s Battersea. pic.twitter.com/JHOoO1PdIV

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 7, 2017

More about Thomas’s Battersea from The Daily Mail:

Set up 40 years ago, the school, a short drive from Kensington Palace, describes itself as being ‘happy, dynamic and vibrant’ and priding itself on its ‘excellent academic results’.

Its website describes it as a ‘busy, thriving purposeful school’ which has 540 boys and girls between the ages of four and 13, and its alumni include Cara Delevingne and Florence Welch.

Both parents were able to take George to his first day at Westacre Montessori School in January 2016.

This afternoon Prince William reported that things went well on George’s first day. More from The Telegraph:

The Duke later said Prince George had a “good day”, adding: “It was really nice actually. It’s a nice school.”

“It went well. There was one other parent who had more of an issue with their children – so I was quite pleased I wasn’t the one.”

It turns out George is not the only young royal attending Thomas’s. More from The Daily Mail:

Lord Frederick Windsor takes eldest daughter Maud to Thomas’s school in Battersea – and she’s in the same class as distant cousin George …not only will the eldest child of Lord Frederick Windsor be in the same school as the heir to the throne the youngsters are thought to be sharing a classroom too.

Frederick is the son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, with his father being cousin to the Queen. This makes Maud and George distant cousins who will have plenty of time to bond as they enter the school year.

The Daily Mail story has photos showing how cute Maud looks in her uniform. A ‘thank you’ to Betty Wales for sharing that info on the FB page!

In honor of today’s occasion, Kensington Palace tweeted nostalgic photos of Princes William and Harry on their first days at school. In the photo shown lower left you see the boys as they headed to Wetherby Pre-Prep in September 1989.

ITV has a video comparing George’s first day at school with the experiences William and Harry had in similar situations.

Only one camera was allowed to film Prince George as he started school today.
But past generations weren’t so lucky: https://t.co/fQOSqkK6jU pic.twitter.com/IMWRU0ZqvU

— ITV News (@itvnews) September 7, 2017

There was a lot of interest in the dress worn by the Lower School Head, Helen Haslem.

It turns out she was in a frock from LK Bennett, the retailer’s Amana Dress. It is available in limited sizing on the LK Bennett US site ($425); in almost all sizes on the John Lewis US site (where it is just $334); and at Zalando’s UK site. A Tip of the Tiara to Marian on the WKW Facebook page and Evangelina on Twitter for IDing the dress.

Several WKWers on Facebook and Twitter noted the similarity between this dress and Kate’s Alexander McQueen first seen in Australia in 2014. I didn’t make an immediate connection but can see how it would make a nice repliKate.

For many more photos and much more info, including details on what George wore, visit our sister site, What Kate’s Kids Wore.