Smashing Gender Norms! Prince George Will Learn Ballet At His New $26,000-A-Year School

Picture it: your favorite sassy prince, now with pointe shoes! Five-year-old Prince George will be returning to the prestigious Thomas's Battersea school for Year One (AKA British kindergarten) this September, where he'll receive instruction in subjects like French, Religious Studies, and, yes, Ballet. All Year One students at the school are required to take weekly ballet lessons, which are accompanied by a live pianist and based on a syllabus developed by the Royal Academy of Dance. Sounds legit. 

While compulsory ballet for both genders hasn't exactly caught on in the States (can you imagine Trump letting Barron learn to plié?), it's a growing trend in the UK, with the Royal Academy of Dance seeing a 20% surge in participation in their boys-only ballet classes in 2017. Aside from the obvious cuteness factor—just picture George in a tiny Nutcracker costume!—the fact that the future king of England will be a classically trained ballet dancer is pretty cool. Let's face it, the British monarchy has never been the most progressive institution (and that's putting it mildly), but it's nice to see that its younger members are keeping up with the times. Take that, toxic masculinity! 

In case the dance classes weren't bougie enough, Will and Kate's firstborn and his classmates will also be learning French songs and fairy tales, taking weekly computing lessons (with a focus on learning Microsoft Word and beginning algorithms), and studying drama and art as part of the Year One curriculum. The academic program for these pint-sized one-percenters includes Science, History, and Geography; students also receive instruction in cursive writing and nightly reading assignments. What, did you think His Royal Highness was going to spend kindergarten playing with blocks and eating paste like the rest of us peasants? As if. It's the royal treatment or nothing for our fancy boy prince. 

[Photo via Getty]