Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis Go by Different Names at School — Here's What Their Classmates Call Them

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have held royal titles from birth. But those titles stay outside the classroom.

The three children use a simpler naming convention at school, continuing a family tradition their father and uncle followed decades earlier.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis may be among Britain's most recognizable royal children, but their titles do not follow them into the classroom.

The children of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, returned to school in September for a significant academic year. George, 13, began at Eton College, while Charlotte, 11, entered Year 7 and Louis, eight, started Year 4 at Lambrook Prep School in Berkshire, according to Hello! magazine.

At official appearances and in other areas of royal life, the siblings continue to use their royal titles. At school, however, a long-standing family convention gives them a simpler identity among classmates.

And it is a convention their father knows well.

William Followed the Same Classroom Tradition Decades Ago

William knows what it is like to enter school with a royal title but use a different name among classmates.

William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, used "Wales" as their surname at school. The name came from their father Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales. That tradition has an especially strong connection to George this year.

The 13-year-old began at Eton in September, the same school his father attended for five years beginning in 1995.

William served as a house captain and prefect before leaving Eton and later attending the University of St Andrews. Harry enrolled at Eton three years after his brother.

George's arrival, therefore, carries two family connections. He is attending his father's former school while following the same type of naming convention William used as a student.

William and Catherine accompanied their eldest son on his first day at Eton on Sept. 8. George moved into one of the school's 25 boarding houses.

George's move has also raised interest in how Eton could prepare him for the responsibilities he is expected to assume later in life.

Melanie Sanderson, managing editor at the Good Schools Guide, pointed to the range of opportunities available to students when discussing why Eton suited George.

"Eton, above all the other schools, has a breadth that's really unparalleled," Sanderson said in the report. "All the other public schools have extracurricular opportunities, in theatre and on the sports pitch, but Eton really does take it to another level."

She also highlighted the role of chapel at Eton, an element with particular relevance to George's future.

"He's going to be head of the Church of England one day," Sanderson said. "Chapel is less of a central feature at a lot of schools than it used to be, but it's still a central part of Eton."

William was confirmed at Eton, and Sanderson said she expects George to follow the same path.

Yet despite the significance surrounding George's future, one part of his everyday school life is much simpler. Charlotte and Louis share the same distinction.

Their Parents' New Titles Changed Something at School

The children's school surname has already changed once. Before William and Catherine became the Prince and Princess of Wales, they were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their children used "Cambridge" as a surname at their previous schools, according to the report.

That earlier name reveals how the convention works. Instead of relying on a permanent family surname for school, the children have used a name derived from their parents' title.

The situation changed after Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, at age 96, according to the BBC. The Royal Family announced her death on X that day, saying she had "died peacefully at Balmoral."

Her death brought her son, King Charles III, to the throne and changed William and Catherine's roles within the Royal Family. They subsequently became the Prince and Princess of Wales.

George, Charlotte, and Louis retained their royal titles, but the change gave them a new surname to use at school - one that reflected their parents' new titles.

The Names Their Classmates Actually Use

At school, the three children are known simply as George Wales, Charlotte Wales, and Louis Wales, the publication reported.

There is no "Prince" before George's name under this school convention and no "Princess" before Charlotte's. Louis follows the same pattern. "Wales" comes from William and Catherine's titles as the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The children do not generally replace their royal titles with these names elsewhere. Outside school, they continue to be identified by their royal titles. "Wales" instead provides a practical surname for their school lives.

Why Royal Surnames Work Differently

The Royal Family's naming rules help explain why a surname is not always straightforward.

According to their official website, members can be known by the name of the Royal House and by a surname, but the two are not necessarily the same. Often, royals do not use a surname at all.

The modern system dates to 1917, when King George V adopted Windsor as both the name of the Royal House and his family's surname. He declared that qualifying male-line descendants of Queen Victoria would bear the name Windsor.

Elizabeth II confirmed Windsor as the Royal Family name after her accession in 1952. In 1960, she and Prince Philip decided their direct descendants should also have a surname that distinguished them from the wider Royal Family without changing the name of the Royal House.

That surname was Mountbatten-Windsor, reflecting Philip's Mountbatten surname alongside Windsor.

The declaration applied Mountbatten-Windsor to the Queen's descendants who did not have the style Royal Highness or the title of prince or princess. The official website notes that royals entitled to be called HRH Prince or Princess generally do not need a surname.

That leaves room for practical naming conventions in settings such as school, which is why a title-derived name like "Wales" can serve a different purpose from the family's formal surname.

School life has recently brought changes for another branch of the Royal Family, too.

As previously reported, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, Archie and Lilibet, switched schools shortly after beginning a new term in the UK, following concerns raised by the family's security team about the daily school run.

Two Days Into School, Everything Changed

Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, spent two days at the school last week, meeting their new classmates after the Sussex family returned to Britain for an extended stay.

According to Hello!, Harry and Meghan then withdrew both children following advice from their security team. And the problem was not what was happening inside the school gates. It was getting Archie and Lilibet safely to and from them.

Sources close to Harry and Meghan said there was no issue with the school. Instead, the practical demands of the school run presented problems for the family's small, private security team.

The School Run Became the Problem

Heavy traffic in the area and the distance between the school and the Sussexes' current home were thought to be contributing factors. At one point, their vehicles reportedly struggled to remain together in convoy. That incident raised additional security concerns.

The couple's bodyguards had checked the school during the summer holidays after Harry and Meghan decided to return to Britain. However, the team could not fully assess what the school run would be like until the first day of term.

That left the family facing an awkward problem: The children had found a school they apparently loved, but the daily journey was proving difficult to manage securely.

A friend of the couple told Hello!, "It's a real shame, because they absolutely adored the school, the kids and their parents. It was perfect for them in every way, and the children really enjoyed their time there."

The friend added, "They really wanted to make it work, but they had to make a difficult decision based on the fact that the team couldn't make the school run operationally secure."

A New School Is Already in Place

The change happened quickly. Archie and Lilibet have already visited another school in the area for a taster session on Monday. Harry was reportedly seen helping Lilibet settle into reception, while Harry and Meghan have been added to the new school's parents' WhatsApp groups.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that discussions with the family's security team led to the decision. "The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family's security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements," the spokesperson told Hello!

The representative also stressed that the switch should not be viewed as criticism of the children's first school. "The parents remain extremely grateful to all the teachers and staff for the love, care and effort they have shown their family. This decision should in no way be interpreted as a reflection on the school or the exceptional care the children have received there."

The Timing Puts Security Back in Focus

The timing makes the episode particularly notable. Meghan has now been granted her first government-backed security review since she and Harry stepped away from royal duties in 2020.

The Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as Ravec, has asked the couple to provide information about their daily routines, including the school run, as it evaluates whether the threats they face have changed.

Harry has pursued the issue of UK security for years. He sought to have his VIP police protection reinstated beginning in September 2021 and continued his legal challenge until May 2025, when he lost at the Court of Appeal.

Following that defeat, Harry told the BBC, "I can't see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point." Yet by August 2026, the family's circumstances had changed. Harry and Meghan arrived in Britain on August 26 after flying privately from California to Birmingham, according to People.

The couple has kept their Montecito home and their vacation property in Portugal, while details about their private UK residence and the children's schooling have remained closely guarded.

Their move does not mark a return to working royal life. Harry and Meghan remain private, nonworking members of the royal family, with Harry expected to devote more time to UK charities and the Invictus community ahead of the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.

Their UK Return Had Been Building for Months

The children's education had been part of the conversation surrounding a possible British future long before their first day at school.

Singer Joss Stone previously told Hello! that Harry had spoken with her about schools and community after she moved her own family back to Britain from Nashville, Tennessee. "He was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children," Stone recalled.

The family's arrival also brought fresh attention to privacy around children at local schools. Earlier this month, Page Six reported that parents in the Cotswolds had received letters reminding them not to photograph or film other children or post information about pupils and their families online.

The letter reportedly referred to maintaining a "safe, happy and private environment" and acknowledged that some new families could attract increased public or media attention. However, Page Six reported that the school responsible for that letter was not the school Archie and Lilibet attended.

The family's connection to Britain had already been growing before the new school term. During a July visit, Archie and Lilibet spent time with Charles at Highgrove and visited Althorp, the childhood home and final resting place of their grandmother, Princess Diana.

Meghan Gives a Glimpse of Their New Life

Only days before news of the school change emerged, Meghan offered followers a rare look at the family's new routine. On September 13, she posted a 35-second Instagram video featuring Harry, Archie, Lilibet, and the family's dogs, Pula and Mia.

The footage showed an informal side of their time in Britain. There were bicycles, fishing, muddy countryside walks, a campfire, and a family walk through a wooded lane. Lilibet appeared riding a bicycle with a pink-and-white doll or toy near the handlebars and a red seat or storage compartment behind her.

Her hair was pulled back with a purple accessory. Archie, wearing a pink T-shirt and blue shorts, could be seen farther ahead. A British flag and red heart emoji accompanied the countryside footage. Another scene showed Harry with Archie and Lilibet in a small wooden boat.

Archie wore a bright orange life vest while fishing rods could be seen above the group. In another clip, Harry and Meghan walked hand in hand along a gravel-and-dirt country pa

th surrounded by trees. The video soon generated a separate discussion over Archie's voice.

Some viewers thought they detected a British inflection when he called out, "Go! Go!" That debate came despite Meghan previously explaining that her children sometimes use words with elements of Harry's British accent.

During a March 2025 appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show", Meghan said Archie and Lilibet have "very American accents," but occasionally pronounce words like their father. Archie was born in London in 2019 before the family moved to California in 2020.

Lilibet was born in California in 2021, meaning both children have spent most of their lives in the United States. Now their schooling has put the family's British security arrangements at the center of attention again.

The Sudden Switch Sparks Strong Reactions

The abrupt change prompted plenty of reaction online, with some commenters focusing on the children while others questioned Harry and Meghan's decisions. Under an Instagram post, one person wrote, "Please let these children go to school in peace. Acting like that is very scary for them."

Another commented, "OMG. Can Harry & Meghan behave like average folks who get up every morning send their children to school & then the parents actually go to work." A third questioned the family's return to Britain: "So it's dangerous in the UK but safe in the US? Why did they move back to the UK then?"

Others kept their responses short. "Those poor kids," one person wrote. Another said, "That is the most performative thing they've done in a while." One commenter added, "😮Feel for the kids. They must be a bit confused."

The discussion spilled onto Facebook, where another person wrote, "Everything is a drama. Everything is crisis mode." A second commenter asked, "Why don't they take their kids to school themselves like every other parent does including the Prince and Princess!!"

What the Sussexes Say Happened

Whatever commenters made of the situation, the explanation provided by the Sussexes was specific: The school itself was not the reason Archie and Lilibet left.

After only two days, a school the children reportedly "absolutely adored" was no longer workable because the family's security team determined that the daily journey could not be made operationally secure under the existing arrangements.

Archie and Lilibet are now preparing to start again at another school nearby — while Meghan's new government-backed security review puts the wider question of the Sussex family's protection in Britain firmly back in focus.