A prince's schooling is an important part of royal tradition.

As the first-born son of Prince William, Prince George has a pretty defined future ahead of him already: he will be King of England one day. The older he gets, the more his parents have to think about this future, and one aspect of that is creeping up on them fairly quickly. See, Will and Kate will soon need to decide if they want to send George to boarding school. That doesn't exactly seem like an earth-shattering decision for most, but it's significant in terms of royal tradition. Sending him to boarding school will mean George will follow the same path of his father and grandfather, while not sending him will break the generational tradition. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRmreACltur/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Now eight years old, George is getting closer to the age where he'd traditionally be expected to leave home to continue his education. But Will and Kate haven't exactly been sticklers for royal tradition so far in their approach to parenthood, instead being more hands-on. Would sending George off to boarding school be too antiquated for their beliefs? Possibly, according to what royal expert Joe Drake told the Express. "I think it might be better for him to have a different education," he said. "I don't know what that would entail though because I do think him going to some random school may be tough because he's the future king." That's... a bit of an understatement. https://www.instagram.com/p/CI3-aCEleK4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link In July, another source told Us Weekly that the couple would only send George to boarding school if he wanted to go. "Kate and William are open to sending George to boarding school in the future and have already checked out a few, but they feel 8 is a little young and want to wait until he’s slightly older," the source revealed. "George going to school is a decision the Cambridges will make as a family. They’d never force George to go unless he wants to and they feel it’s right." George and his younger sister Charlotte currently attend Thomas's Battersea, which is for children up to the age of 13. Whether he stays put for another while or spreads his wings to leave the nest, hopefully it'll be the choice that feels best for him.