Prince William and Kate take George, Charlotte and Louis to first day at Lambrook school

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and their little brother, Prince Louis, have started at their new school, Lambrook near Windsor in Berkshire today.

Captured by a single TV camera, a photographer and one reporter allowed into the school's 21ha grounds, the little royals and their parents, Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, are seen walking towards the school's headteacher, Jonathan Perry.

While the children, dressed in their new uniforms to attend a settling in day, appear somewhat shy as they approach Perry, he greets them all with a handshake and a "welcome to Lambrook".

"It's lovely to have you with us," he says. "We're very excited for the year ahead."

Perry asks the children if they're excited, to which they dutifully reply, "Yes".

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And as William ushers his children, who he refers to as "all the gang", up the steps of the school's historic building, he tells Perry the family are "looking forward to it" and that the children have "lots of questions".

According to Sky News, managing editor of the UK's Good Schools Guide, Melanie Sanderson, says the move to the new Berkshire school where all their children can attend together is in part a bid to give them more privacy and a sense of normality.

"The Cambridges' first priority at this point in the children's development is that they retain that normality, so I think they can expect to be selected for matches the same as their peers," Sanderson told Sky News.

She says while William and Kate will be able to attend sports days and school performances, Lambrook is a school that will also prepare the children "for a life of public duty, and it has a very socially conscious feel to it".

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"Jonathan Perry is incredibly focused on ensuring his pupils understand their situation, that they all understand their privilege, and you know, let's be under no illusion, we're talking about an incredibly privileged cohort here."

In fact, Sanderson says the Cambridge children may discover they're not the wealthiest among their peers' families, nor do they have the biggest home.

According to the Sun, the Cambridges downsized their home and ditched their live-in nanny as they moved their children to their new £7000-a-term ($14,000) school.

In order to attend Lambrook, George and Charlotte were taken out of Thomas' School in Battersea, south London, and Louis was moved from Willcocks Nursery in South Kensington, west London.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.