Prince George is preparing to take a major step into royal tradition, but his new school comes with a deeply disturbing history.

The young royal, who turns 13 in July, is set to begin attending Eton College in September after Kensington Palace confirmed he will follow in the footsteps of his father, Prince William.

The move has put fresh attention on one of Britain’s most famous and prestigious schools. But along with Eton’s elite reputation comes a dark past involving historic safeguarding failures, shocking abuse claims, and criminal cases that have haunted the school for years.

George will attend Eton after passing his Common Entrance exams, ending years of speculation over where Prince William and Princess Kate’s eldest son would continue his education.

His younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will remain at Lambrook School in Berkshire.

For generations, Eton has educated prime ministers, royals, aristocrats, and some of the most powerful men in Britain. But the school has also faced intense scrutiny over serious child protection scandals stretching back decades.

One education source said there is no question that Eton remains one of the most prestigious schools in the world, but its history cannot be discussed without acknowledging the safeguarding scandals that affected generations of pupils.

The source said many parents today are reassured by the reforms that have since been introduced, but there remains public interest in how past failures happened and what lessons were learned.

Among the most disturbing allegations involved former headmaster Anthony Chenevix-Trench, who led Eton during the 1960s.

Chenevix-Trench faced multiple complaints over brutal and sexually predatory “punishments” inflicted on pupils. He died in 1979 and was never prosecuted, but former students later pursued civil compensation claims against the school.

More recent cases have also raised serious concerns.

In 2020, former Eton geography teacher Matthew Mowbray was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of sexual activity with a child, voyeurism, and making indecent images of children. The case included disturbing claims that he made nighttime visits to pupils’ bedrooms.

Then, in 2025, another former Eton teacher was jailed after sexually assaulting a vulnerable boy at the school.

Jacob Leland, 37, who taught Russian at the elite Berkshire institution, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault on a male. Reading Crown Court heard he assaulted a student at his teachers’ accommodation and during a school trip.

Leland was sentenced to three years and three months behind bars.

His defense lawyer argued that he was a “late-developing man who was like a teenager” at the time of the offenses and described his behavior as “out of character” and a “lamentable lapse of judgment.”

The judge accepted there was some immaturity, which was worsened by Leland’s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. But she ruled his condition did not stop him from knowing how to exercise appropriate judgment.

Eton was also named in the 2021 Everyone’s Invited campaign, which exposed anonymous testimonies about alleged “rape culture” and peer-on-peer harassment at schools across the United Kingdom.

In response to recent criminal cases and wider concerns, Eton’s leadership has worked to tighten safeguarding policies and strengthen ties with outside agencies and children’s services. The school says allegations are now referred quickly to police when needed.

Current headmaster Simon Henderson has said the welfare and well-being of pupils is the school’s top priority.

The school has also introduced policies focused on child protection, consent, healthy relationships, and reporting procedures.

One educational insider said modern Eton leadership knows that prestige alone is no longer enough.

“The modern leadership is acutely aware that reputation alone is not enough,” the insider said. “Schools like Eton are judged not just on academic results but on their ability to protect children and respond appropriately when concerns arise.”

The insider added that Eton has made “a significant effort” to strengthen policies around safeguarding, consent, healthy relationships, and transparency.

George’s enrollment at Eton continues a long royal tradition.

Prince William and Prince Harry both attended the school after their mother, Princess Diana, favored Eton over Gordonstoun in Scotland, where King Charles and the late Prince Philip had been educated.

Diana, who died in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997, reportedly believed Eton was the better fit for her sons.

Now, decades later, George is set to walk through the same historic gates as his father and uncle.

But as the future king begins this new chapter, Eton’s troubling past is once again back in the spotlight.