Prince George could receive a significant royal gift originally intended for Prince Harry

The sweet reason Prince George was “so upset” about his parents’ latest royal visit

Temperatures are dropping, best winter coats season is incoming, and the Cambridge children are well into the new school year.

After months of pandemic-induced homeschooling at Anmer Hall, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, are embarking on the autumn term at their London school, Thomas’s Battersea. And though he may have just turned eight (feel old yet?), it’s reported that Kate and William are already considering which secondary school will be best suited to their eldest son.

While Prince Harry and Prince William attended Eton College, and Scotland’s Gordonstoun was the alma mater of the late Duke of Edinburgh and his three sons Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, it’s been reported that George might instead follow in the footsteps of his mother, and attend the co-educational Marlborough College in Wiltshire.

The school question isn't the only important decision about George's future that currently hangs in the balance, though.

Apparently, the eldest Cambridge child could inherit a pretty sizeable gift from his grandfather Prince Charles, now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have stepped down from their royal roles and relocated to Montecito, California.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Prince Charles is planning on making some significant changes to the royal estate when he succeeds to the throne; not only taking a 'flat above a shop' approach to his own living quarters, but redistributing some of the property previously intended for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Though Charles had originally intended his current London residence Clarence House to be given to Harry and Meghan, the paper claims that their relocation to Montecito, California, means that it's "no longer on the cards", and instead will be reserved for Prince George, Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis.

The same report claims that the Prince of Wales wants to reduce the monarch’s living quarters at Buckingham Palace, and open up more of the space to the public. He also, apparently, has plans to convert Balmoral Castle – widely thought to be one of the Queen’s favourite residences – into a museum.

Explaining the reason for the reported royal shake up, an insider told the publication, "The Prince of Wales strongly believes that these places have got to deliver something for the public beyond just being somewhere for members of the Royal Family to live. Everything is seen through the lens of the question: ‘What value is this offering to the public?'”

But that doesn't mean the royal wants to open up important parts of the estate to the public completely.

"Everybody recognises it makes no sense to run so many residences but if you give them up entirely you will never get them back when Prince George and the younger Royals grow up and need somewhere to live," the source said.In the meantime though, Charles would reportedly like to see the Cambridges move to Windsor Castlea move the family are already thought to be considering.

Exciting times ahead in the royal household!

Kate McCusker

Kate McCusker is a freelance writer at Marie Claire UK, having joined the team in 2019. She studied fashion journalism at Central Saint Martins, and her byline has also appeared in Dezeen, British Vogue, The Times and woman&home. In no particular order, her big loves are: design, good fiction, bad reality shows and the risible interiors of celebrity houses.