Ever since his birth – 13 years ago next month – he’s been the subject of intense public interest, not only here in Britain but around the world.

Now, though, the scrutiny Prince George is obliged to contend with is just about to go up several notches, thanks to an official announcement which, I understand, is imminent – and which comes only after prolonged heart-searching by his parents.

‘It’s going to be announced next week that George will start at Eton in September,’ I’m told.

The timing is no accident. This past week has been one of the most daunting of George’s life, during which he sat the common entrance exam for Eton – and came through successfully.

It was a crucial test, given the contrasting experiences of his father and his uncle-in-exile, Prince Harry.

Whereas William relished his time at school, from where he progressed to St Andrews University, the less academic Harry struggled – a battle he could have been spared had he been sent to another establishment where brainpower was less highly prized than it is at £63,000-per-year Eton, which has educated no fewer than 20 British prime ministers, the most recent being David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

A source says that it will be ¿announced next week that George will start at Eton in September¿

So it’s perhaps no surprise that William and Catherine – who was deeply unhappy at Downe House before switching schools to Marlborough College – have considered other possibilities.

 In recent years they’ve visited £62,000-per-year Oundle and St Edward’s Oxford, known as Teddies, whose Old Etonian headmaster, Alastair Chirnside, is considered the most brilliant of his generation.

But both Oundle and Teddies are mixed – one of the factors that, it’s said, helped sway William and Catherine’s final decision.

‘We’re in the smartphone era. Any picture of George with a girl could be around the world in a moment, however innocent the kiss might be,’ muses a pal, adding that two other factors carried the day.

‘Security and proximity to home,’ he explains, referring to Eton’s comparatively cloistered setting and its long familiarity with royals and other high-profile pupils – plus the fact that it’s just minutes away from William and Catherine’s ‘forever home’, the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

Even closer than Lambrook, the prep school to which George will soon bid farewell.