Prince George Turns 13: Rare Palace Video Shows Future King Before Major Eton Milestone

A sunlit video of Prince George kicking a cricket ball across a Cornish beach has been released by Kensington Palace to mark his 13th birthday on Wednesday, as the future king prepares for a major new chapter at Eton College in Windsor this autumn.

The footage, filmed in Cornwall at Easter, is unusually relaxed for palace output, showing George in sunglasses, grinning and waving to the camera, scrambling over rocks and playing cricket on the sand.

It was posted with the caption: 'Thank you for all the birthday wishes for George today!' and quickly filled with heart and cake emojis from royal fans, including one who wrote: 'Beautiful video. Happiest Birthday George.'

A More Formal Portrait Alongside the Video

The video comes alongside a new official birthday portrait, shot by long-time family photographer Matt Porteous at Kensington Palace straight after June's Trooping the Colour ceremony.

It shows George in a dark suit and open-necked white shirt, hands in his pockets, a noticeably more formal look than last year's countryside gilet and friendship bracelet in Norfolk, and a visual hint that the boy who once stole the show at royal weddings is now a teenager on the brink of boarding school life.

The portrait carried the message 'Happy 13th birthday, George!' and prompted its own wave of sentimental posts from royal-watchers who feel they have followed his growth for over a decade.

Eton College Awaits This Autumn

George, the elder son of Prince William and Catherine and second in line to the throne, will start at Eton College in September, following his father, his uncle Prince Harry and his great-uncle Earl Spencer.

Entry usually begins at 13, and George will leave Lambrook School in Berkshire, where he has studied alongside Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Life at Eton will bring a significant shift in pace and scrutiny. George is expected to become a boarder in one of the school's 25 houses, each with around 55 boys overseen by a house master and residential staff.

Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Page Six that, like William and Harry before him, George is likely to have his own study and bedroom rather than a roommate, calling it the 'greatest gift' the college can offer a future monarch.

'He'll have a space where he can decompress away from the constant scrutiny that comes with being a future king,' she said, while noting the house system's shared kitchens and common rooms should keep him socially integrated rather than isolated.

Sport, Security and the Social Media Test

Sport is expected to play a significant role. William once played football and water polo for the school, and Schofield believes George will lean into athletics, though there has also been speculation about rugby after Catherine joked he has the build for it.

The bigger challenge, Schofield said, is one William never faced as a teenager: the social media age. William and Harry attended Eton before Instagram, TikTok and viral clips made every misstep potentially global, meaning George's security challenge today is as much digital as physical.

Royal protection officers are expected to operate in plain clothes, as they did in William's day, blending into the background so classmates aren't constantly reminded they're beside an heir to the throne, though any protective operation will likely be more tech-savvy than before.

One advantage is geography: the family's Windsor home, Forest Lodge, is a short drive from Eton, meaning George will have his parents and siblings nearby, unlike many boarders.

William and Catherine have repeatedly said they want as normal a family life as possible for their children, even as George has already joined senior royals at Trooping the Colour and appeared courtside at Wimbledon.

The Cornish birthday video, salty hair and seaside cricket, offers a glimpse of how that balance is playing out as he approaches this next chapter.