Prince Harry will not send Archie to Eton College, his spokesman has revealed.
The Duke of Sussex is reportedly keen on having his children schooled in the UK, emphasizing to his friend Joss Stone the significance of ‘community’ for his son and daughter.
It was disclosed by the Daily Mail last week that Harry shared with another confidante his concern that his children are missing out on a broad family connection in Britain.
But Archie will not go to his father’s alma mater, just a fifteen minute walk from Windsor Castle.
‘Prince Harry has not put his son’s name down for Eton, nor does he have any plans to do so’, a Sussex spokesman said.
Harry’s representative addressed a report suggesting Eton as Harry’s preferred institution for his son, citing the presence of many ‘high-profile and politically exposed kids’ and the UK’s stringent gun laws as reasons.
The Duke had a mixed experience at Eton, enjoying sports but facing academic challenges while developing a reputation as a rebel. In his memoir, Spare, he shared that he never felt he truly belonged, despite having close school friends.
Additionally, Harry felt excluded by William when he first began school since his elder brother reportedly told him to ‘pretend we don’t know each other’. Their mother, Diana, supposedly had reservations about sending Harry to the expensive school due to his stark differences from William.
Harry’s preference for British schooling for his children, who have American accents, might lead to disagreements with his wife, who allegedly finds boarding schools ‘barbaric’. A friend shared with the Mail’s Richard Eden: ‘Harry still needs to negotiate with Meghan. Meanwhile, the King is very pleased.’
Prince Harry and Meghan on a recent trip to Disneyland with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in June. Multiple sources have claimed that Harry wants his children educated in the UK
Harry and Archie in California. The Duke of Sussex is also concerned about safety in US schools, it has been claimed
A friend told the Daily Beast that on top of the academic results: ‘You have to imagine Eton would be a hell of a lot safer than an American school thanks to their gun laws’.
‘It’s seven day boarding, lots of kids fly back and forth [to the US] at the beginning and end of term, so why shouldn’t Archie? The school certainly wouldn’t be prejudiced against him’, they said.
But despite Harry’s decision to emigrate with his family, multiple reports have claimed that he wants to send Archie and Lilibet to one of Britain’s top public schools.
He recently asked Joss Stone about moving from America back to Britain – praising UK schools and ‘how important community is for children’, the singer has revealed.
The Duke of Sussex chatted with the star during the WellChild Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on September 8 during his four-day trip to the UK.
Stone said Harry asked about her family’s recent transition back to life in the UK after living in the US, where he has been residing with Meghan Markle since 2020.
She told Hello!: ‘He also asked about how we were settling back in and was genuinely interested in our move home. He’s just very warm and down to earth, as always.
‘Maybe Harry will move back too. That would be nice. He was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children.
‘It was nice to share that with him because it’s exactly why we felt drawn to come back – for the kids to grow up surrounded by family, friends and a strong sense of belonging and most importantly in a safe environment.’
It comes after the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden revealed last Saturday that Harry wants to educate his children Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, in the UK.
Stone also said it was ‘really sweet to see him after all these years’ and praised Harry for being ‘so lovely’ with her newborn daughter Nalima, whom he met at the event.
She continued: ‘He joked about me having four children, saying it’s ‘two too many,’ or maybe it wasn’t a joke!’
Stone, who has four children with her American husband Cody DaLuz, recently moved back to Britain from Nashville in Tennessee.
Harry now lives with Meghan and their children in Montecito, California.
Stone attended the couple’s wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and was an ambassador for Harry’s former charity Sentebale.
She also performed at the 2007 Concert For Diana at Wembley Stadium in memory of his mother, and first met Harry at a Prince’s Trust event in 2005.
Discussion over Harry’s children being schooled in the UK will come as a surprise to some observers after he said how much he liked life in the US during an event in New York last December.
The Duke said at the time: ‘I enjoy living and bringing my kids up here, it’s a part of my life that I never thought I was going to live and it feels as though it’s the life that my mum wanted for me.’
But a friend told the Daily Mail earlier this month: ‘I can tell you that Harry wants to educate the children here in the UK.
Prince Harry starts his first day at Eton in 1998
‘Harry feels his children are missing out on the extensive family network that their niece and nephews are enjoying.
‘Harry wants his children to have the very best education. He has retained his closest friendship group of confidants from his days at school at Ludgrove and Eton. He wants that for his own children.’
However, Meghan is said to consider sending children to boarding school ‘barbaric’.
The friend added: ‘There is still some negotiation for Harry to have with Meghan. The King, however, is delighted.’
Last month, Grant Harrold, a former personal butler to King Charles, told Sky News Australia: ‘It’s very likely and it’s completely possible because if they have their younger education in America, I’m sure their father will be quite keen [for them] to have a bit of a British education.
‘But then it depends on how the relationship is with the rest of the family when the time comes.’
Prince William and Kate’s children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, all attend £32,000-per-year Lambrook in Berkshire.
Harry’s visit to the UK saw him reunited with his father Charles in their first face-to-face meeting for 19 months, as they met for nearly an hour at Clarence House in London.
The Duke later told The Guardian that he would like to spend more time in the UK and that the past week had ‘definitely brought that closer’.
Joss Stone attends the WellChild Awards 2025 on September 8, where she spoke with Harry
That came after Harry said in May that he ‘can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK’ following him losing a Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements while in the country.
The Duke lost his appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.
The challenge came after Harry and Meghan left the UK and first moved to Canada, and then California, after announcing they wanted to step back as senior royals.
Following the decision, the Duke told BBC News it is ‘impossible’ for him to bring his family to the UK safely after losing his challenge over his security arrangements while in the country.
He told the broadcaster: ‘I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point, and the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything you know.
‘I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.
‘So you know? I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK. Of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.’
