The Princess of Wales has toured two elite north London day schools – sparking rumours Prince George could be educated at one of them.

Kate, in remission from cancer, was seen at £10,000-a-term University College School (UCS) in Hampstead just after it closed for the Christmas break.

The same week, Highgate School – just two miles away – was also closed for a ‘special VIP visitor’ – said to have been the princess.

Her alma mater, Marlborough College in Wiltshire is understood to be the preferred choice for her elder son when he leaves Lambrook School in Berkshire in 18 months.

But Kate and husband Prince William may be keen to explore other options.

Prince George, 11, attends co-educational Lambrook with siblings Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

Kate is thought to be keen to keep them together. And Marlborough, a £59,000-a-year a co-educational boarding school, could take all three.

Prince George is believed to have been offered a place and a house has already been earmarked for him. It is said to be the best option for his security requirements.

A source said while a day school in north London would be an ‘unexpected choice’, events of the past year might also have changed the Waleses’ priorities.

‘With the year Catherine has had, she may well have thought to herself that she wants to soak up every drop of George’s childhood and tuck him into bed herself each night,’ the source said.

However, it might not be a surprise, either, if the school visits were linked to Kate’s work with the Royal Foundation. One of Kate’s first official engagements after her chemotherapy finished was an Early Years meeting at Windsor Castle in September.

It is a subject close to her heart, and she has said she takes ‘great joy’ from her work.