Prince George’s Grounded Household Routine: Guinea Pig Duty Before the Eton Transition
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(978x691:980x693)/prince-george-1-d93dccd5ffb9423c83eb71fd81065bd7.jpg)
Despite standing second in line to the throne, 13-year-old Prince George has long been raised with a strict emphasis on domestic routine and personal accountability. Royal expert Hilary Fordwich revealed that among the household tasks assigned to the Wales children in exchange for pocket money, George’s primary domestic duty has been cleaning out the family’s pet guinea pig cage.
Instilling Responsibility Through Ordinary Chores
The chore system—established when the family relocated to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor in 2022 and carried forward to their current residence at Forest Lodge—is rooted directly in Princess Kate’s own upbringing:
-
The Middleton Influence: Growing up while her parents built their party supplies venture Party Pieces, Catherine was actively involved in everyday operational and family tasks from a young age.
-
Life Skills Over Palace Staff: Rather than relying on royal household staff to handle minor domestic matters, William and Catherine have deliberately modeled their parenting on practical responsibility, ensuring George, Princess Charlotte (11), and Prince Louis (8) develop everyday life skills.
-
The Reality of Pet Care: Prince William previously joked during a 2024 visit to Woodgate Valley Urban Farm that the children would occasionally “forget” to clean out the guinea pig, leaving him to step in—prompting the parents to make pet maintenance a formal, paid chore to enforce consistency.
Reassigning Duties as Eton Boarding Begins
With Prince George officially enrolled as a full-time boarder at Eton College this term, the daily rhythm of his domestic chores is undergoing an inevitable shift:
-
Handing Over the Reins: Because George will spend the vast majority of his term living on the historic Berkshire campus—returning home only for designated exeat weekends and school holidays—daily pet maintenance will naturally pass down to Charlotte or Louis.
-
New Forms of Self-Sufficiency: While cage cleaning will fade from his daily schedule, life inside an Eton boarding house trades domestic pet care for communal independence, requiring the young prince to keep his own room tidy, manage his daily kit, and navigate life outside direct parental supervision.
