With Prince George heading off to Eton College this week for the next stage of his education, it is likely Prince William and Princess Catherine would have felt slightly emotional as they waved their son off to become a boarder at the prestigious school. While they still have their younger children Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis living at home, the daily absence of their oldest child may take some time to get used to.

However, it won’t be long until they have to say goodbye all over again. This is because while Princess Charlotte is only 11, she will – like George – probably attend a boarding school within the next few years. This is likely to be when she turns 13, with this being the age Lambrook – the school the royal children have been attending – stop teaching students.

While it was always almost written in the cards that George would go to Eton – the same school his father Prince William attended – the future school Charlotte will attend is less set-in-stone, or so we thought.

With George following in William’s footsteps, it is believed Charlotte could follow in Princess Catherine’s and attend the boarding school her mother once walked the corridors of – Marlborough College. This is because Eton College is an all-boys school.

A royal source told RadarOnline.com: “William and Catherine have always placed enormous importance on giving their children as normal and cohesive an upbringing as their circumstances allow, so the fact that Charlotte cannot simply follow George presents an interesting decision.

“They will want somewhere where she can flourish as Charlotte rather than constantly being treated as the King’s granddaughter or the future King’s sister.”

The source continued: “Marlborough would inevitably enter the conversation because Catherine understands the school personally. She knows its culture, she knows what boarding there involves and, most importantly, she knows from experience whether she believes that environment could suit her daughter.

“That familiarity could be enormously reassuring when making such a significant decision.”

While Charlotte waving goodbye to Lambrook, where her and Prince Louis are day students, is a few years away, it is believed parents start looking at boarding schools for their teenagers a few years in advance.

This means that the question about what school Charlotte could attend in the future may soon crop up for the family. It is believed William and Catherine, as they did with Prince George, will make the decision together, and would not announce it until a few months before.

Nothing has yet been confirmed by the Palace.