Prince Harry at Eton: Throwback Photos of of the Teenaged Prince in his Dorm

Following in Prince Harry’s footsteps, his nephew Prince George, the son of William and Kate, Prince and Princess of Wales, started school on September 8 at Eton College. The celebrated institution, attended by the children of aristocrats and wealthy families, has counted many British royals among its students since its founding in the 15th century. In 1998, Harry enrolled there; his older brother William had already been attending for several years. When he arrived, Harry discovered a harsh environment where he struggled to find his place. He would never forget some bitter memories of his time at the demanding boarding school in Berkshire.Prince Harry in his Eton uniform in May 2003, near the end of his time at the school. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesSmilin’ in the rain: Prince Harry puts on a brave face at Eton. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images“A profound shock” for the young princeWhen Harry started school at Eton, it was just a year after his mother, Princess Diana, had died suddenly and tragically. At age 13, Charles’s younger son was still deeply affected by this trauma. Unlike William, who was accompanied by both his parents and his younger brother when he started at Eton, Prince Harry arrived by car with only Charles by his side. In Spare, Harry’s autobiography published in 2023, he reflects on this painful period, describing it as “a profound shock.”The student prince: Harry at his desk in his dorm room. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesIt was all the more difficult because his older brother had specifically asked him not to speak to him. “Willy told me to pretend I didn’t know him. ‘You don’t know me, Harold. And I don’t know you,’” Harry wrote in Spare. “He was forging his own life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up.” Harry stuck to the rule, but broke it on one occasion, when his classmates shave his head: “I ran in circles. I wanted to reverse time. I wanted to scoop up the hair from the floor and glue it back on. I wanted to wake from this nightmare,” he wrote. ”Not knowing where else to turn, I violated the sacred rule, the one shining commandment never to be broken, and ran upstairs to Willy’s room. Instead, he laughed like the others. I recall him sitting at his desk, bent over a book, chuckling, while I stood before him fingering the nubs on my newly bare scalp.”Harry in his dorm room at Eton. Students are allowed to decorate them according to their own taste, and Harry included a photograph of his mother, Diana, on the left. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesGrief, loneliness, and the harshness of Eton’s education put Harry to the test. In Spare, he describes an austere and cold institution, created, in his view, to “to overwhelm the senses, so visitors would feel like meek, abased pilgrims. In my case, mission accomplished.”Harry operates a relief press at Eton’s Drawing School. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesA pensive Prince Harry at his desk. Tim Graham/Getty ImagesA passion for team sportsFortunately, sports would help Harry get through the challenges of Eton. He played rugby, soccer, cricket, and polo every day, and decided, he wrote, that “sport… would be my thing.” Despite his struggles, Harry did well in school and graduated from Eton in 2003. “I was one of those kids at school who did not enjoy classroom work,” he told People magazine. “If it wasn’t for the sports field and the amount of sports that were on offer, there’s no way I would have stayed in school.” After graduation, Harry took a gap year to carry out humanitarian work in Africa (particularly with children in Lesotho), Australia, and Latin America.Prince Harry wearing his Eton uniform near the time of his graduation in 2003. Per an Eton tradition, he wears a winged collar and white bow tie as the captain of a sports team. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesPrince Harry, in his dorm room, polishing his military boots. Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesPrince George continues the traditionDespite Harry’s negative experience at the school, William and Kate decided to send their eldest son to Eton, where tuition, according to Vanity Fair, is 64,000 pounds per year (close to $85,000). “Eton was a much-needed haven for William,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People magazine. “It will give George a rigorous education that he will need for his role.” To avoid any setbacks and ensure the young prince’s safety, the school has already banned photography and as smartphones on campus.This story originally appeared in AD France.