EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Why Prince George IS going to all-boys Eton this autumn

Since his birth, 13 years ago next month, he has been the subject of intense public attention not only here but around the world.

But now the scrutiny Prince George has to deal with is about to go up a few notches, thanks to an official announcement that’s imminent, I understand, and only comes after his parents’ lengthy heart exam.

‘George’s start at Eton in September will be announced next week,’ I was told.

The timing is no coincidence. This past week has been one of the toughest weeks of George’s life; During this time he took Eton’s common entrance examination and passed.

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

While William enjoyed his time at school, where he moved on to the University of St Andrews, Harry struggled less academically; He might have avoided this war if he had been sent to Eton, where brainpower is valued at less than £63,000 a year and has educated at least 20 British prime ministers, most recently David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

So it is perhaps no surprise that William and Catherine, who were deeply unhappy at Downe House before changing schools to Marlborough College, considered other possibilities.

In recent years they have visited Oundle, which brings in £62,000 a year, and St Edward’s Oxford, known as the Teddies. Former Eton headmaster Alastair Chirnside is regarded as the brightest of his generation.

William (pictured at school) enjoyed his time at Eton and then moved on to the University of St Andrews.

But both Oundle and Teddies have a mixed bag; reportedly one of the factors influencing William and Catherine’s final decision.

‘We are in the smartphone age. A friend of mine says that any photo of George with a girl, no matter how innocent the kiss, could instantly go viral around the world, adding that two other factors also influence the day.

‘Security and closeness to home,’ he explains, citing Eton’s relatively monastic environment and long familiarity with royalty and other high-profile students; he also refers to the fact that it’s just minutes away from William and Catherine’s ‘forever home’, the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

It’s even closer than Lambrook, the prep school where George will soon be leaving.

(Very) modern etiquette

Genevieve, 28, who plays Clara Livingston in Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton, adds: ‘Cher was right when she said men look cute.’

Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chenneour doesn’t seem very romantic in real life.

‘I’m seeing someone all the time, but I don’t believe in boyfriends and girlfriends,’ Genevieve told me at the Alice+Olivia Mayfair store event hosted by Stacey Bendet and heiress Nicky Hilton Rothschild.

‘What are a boyfriend and girlfriend if you don’t want to get engaged, married or have children? ‘I’m not 18 anymore.’

Genevieve, 28, who plays Clara Livingston in Netflix’s hit costume drama, adds: ‘Cher was right when she said men look cute.

‘You don’t need them, but they’re fun.’

Smart set… is he talking about a mysterious case of Lady coming back from the dead?

For more than a century it was the grandest of women’s magazines, until it became the subject of an advertisement that its late matriarch Julia Budworth deemed unseemly – and last year it seemingly expired for good when the company that owned it went into liquidation. So, has The Lady, founded in 1885, really disappeared?

This is the question asked by those who are out of pocket for posthumous contributors. ‘Adverts appear on Facebook almost every day for local positions using The Lady Magazine’s famous logo,’ one of them told me.

In addition, The Lady’s website contains many advertisements for caregivers, cleaners, cooks and drivers.

‘Is it legal to trade while bankrupt?’ he asks the exasperated creditor, pointing out that Julia’s son Ben and his wife Helen, who co-wrote the magazine, are living in splendor at Bylaugh Hall in Norfolk.

Actually not, which is probably why Ben set up a new company last year and published a notice in The Gazette (Official Public Record) stating that he was ‘continuing the affairs of the debtor company…wholly or substantially…’.

One of the conditions was that notice be given to ‘all creditors of the debtor company whose name and address are known’. This surprises former contributors to The Lady. “I didn’t receive this notification,” one of them told me. Ben Budworth declines to comment.

Real Housewives’ claws come out in ‘terrifying’ fight

Caroline Stanbury (R), who once counted Prince Andrew among her close friends, was brutally attacked by socialite friend Amanda Cronin (L).

The stars of the ‘Real Housewives’ reality television series are often seen bickering on set.

But when the cameras stop working, things can get really bad.

Caroline Stanbury, 50, who once counted Prince Andrew among her close friends, was brutally attacked by socialite Amanda Cronin, 57.

Amanda stars in The Real Housewives Of London. Caroline, who lives in the UAE, appeared in four episodes of the series last year.

Caroline has posted a video online denying claims that her toyboy husband Sergio Carrallo ‘controls’ her podcast and brand.

Amanda commented: ‘Simply awful.’ He scolded Caroline: ‘Please stop giving bad advice to your followers.

They deserve so much more.

‘Neither of you built anything. You lack practical skills, [you are] Clueless, headless shy chickens on perpetual hamster wheel holiday.’

Caroline refuses to comment but watch this space…

Yours for £675,000: Keir’s ‘working class’ childhood home

The Prime Minister said the semi-detached, three-bedroom house, pictured near Oxted in Surrey, ‘gave us stability during the difficult 1970s’.

When Sir Keir Starmer became Labor leader, he was photographed outside his childhood home for a party political broadcast aimed at highlighting his ordinary roots.

But the ‘charming’ 1920s property has now hit the market for £675,000; This is well above the national average house price in England, which is currently £280,000.

The semi-detached, three-bedroom house near Oxted in Surrey ‘gave us stability during the difficult 1970s’, the Prime Minister said.

This is still higher than the average house price in Surrey of £615,000.

Sir Keir lived there with his late parents and four siblings, from what he describes as a ‘working class background’.

The property description states the home is in a “sought-after location, ideal for modern family living, offering the perfect blend of comfort and convenience.”

Victoria Beckham danced “inappropriately” on stage at her eldest son Brooklyn’s wedding, leaving him feeling “humiliated”. Even more memorable was former Spice Girl friend Mel B’s performance at her own wedding to hairstylist Rory McPhee last year.

‘We had a song called I Will Die 4 U by Prince and people thought we were a bit crazy,’ he said. ‘We got on the dance floor and jumped and did this impromptu dance. Everyone’s like, “Is this real? Are they any good?” he asked.

It’s the latest trend in sexy novels for women, but the ‘romance’ draws disdain from some critics. And author Amanda Craig is keen to turn them into a book.

“It’s tiring to see romance belittled as ‘fairy obscenity’,” he says of the genre, which is a mix of romantic and fantasy fiction. ‘Admittedly, much of the genre is badly written,’ he concedes, claiming it’s as valuable as Shakespeare’s plays.

‘You can’t disparage romance without condemning A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

Dame Joan Collins will star in the new movie A Murder Among Friends.

Dame Joan Collins stars in the new movie A Murder Among Friends, but filming was much more exciting in real life. ‘We shot in a very old house in Prague,’ he told me at the Curzon Mayfair cinema premiere.

‘I felt a ghost.’ However, this spirit did not leave the 93-year-old Dynasty star for long. ‘The ghost lit a fire in one of the very scary rooms and then went up the chimney.’ Frankly, it paid off!

Will Elon bury the hatchet at his father’s 80th birthday?

Elon Musk once said about his father Errol: ‘He’s done almost every bad thing you can think of.’ But now the Tesla billionaire has a chance for an emotional reconciliation.

I heard Errol is throwing a three-day 80th birthday party.

Because I heard that Errol will be throwing a three-day 80th birthday party at the five-star Taj Hotel in Dubai starting next week.

Various members of the extended Musk family will be flying to the Middle East, and Elon is said to be invited too.

The South African businessman has two more children with Elon’s mother, Maye, whom he divorced in 1979 when the SpaceX founder was nine years old.

Mention of the West Wing will make many people think of the White House, or possibly Buckingham Palace, whose 775 rooms are undergoing a £369 million renovation.

But the ‘West Wing’ in Oxfordshire certainly evokes King Charles’s latest refinement at his friend Sir David Beckham’s country home.

Becks and his wife Victoria hope to add ‘an oak-framed balcony’ to what planning agents describe as ‘the west front of the west wing’. Considering that the Beckhams named their second son Romeo, it can be said that this development is long overdue. Let’s hope the balcony will help 23-year-old Romeo solidify his on-and-off romance with his own Juliet, DJ Kim Turnbull.

Don’t wake Bond, Elba warned

‘You must be naive to what it is: escape. Don’t try to respond to the taste of the world. ‘Just be Bond’ says Bond’s Idris Elba

Sir Idris Elba, who was once rumored to replace Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond, has called on new producers at Amazon not to make the upcoming film politically correct.

‘Bond is very unrealistic, so some sense of reality is good, but let’s not try to evoke it,’ says The Wire star, 53. ‘You have to be naive about what it is: escape. Don’t try to respond to the taste of the world. ‘Just be Bond.’