The King will have to choose a new leader of the public school both his sons William and Harry attended, after the provost of Eton College announced he was retiring.
Former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Waldegrave will step down at the prestigious all-boys boarding school in June next year.
Governors of the private Berkshire school, which Boris Johnson and David Cameron also attended, have already begun the process to find a successor. But the provost at Eton – the chair of the governors – is a royal appointment, so the candidate will be recommended to the prime minister, who will then advise the King.
The new provost, who will have a big grace-and-favour home in the centre of Eton on top of a six-figure salary, will take over at a time of controversy for the elite school.
Fee-paying schools, many of which have charitable status, are facing pressure from a potential tax crackdown if Labour wins the next election. The party wants to scrap tax relief on private education, a move it hopes will raise £1.7bn a year, which would go towards recruiting 6,500 more teachers in the state sector.
Leaders of public schools fear a resulting hike in fees could threaten their business model, deterring some parents from sending their children there.
During Lord Waldegrave’s time, Eton has been at the centre of a row over modernisation as some parents and teachers accused headmaster Simon Henderson of turning the school “woke” and of presiding over “indoctrination” at the school, while others praised his expansion of the bursary scheme.
The school, where fees are £46,296 a year, has also faced questions over whether it would admit girls for the first time since it was founded in 1440, particularly after rival Winchester College announced in 2021 it would be accepting girls.
In other changes, Eton is planning to open state sixth forms in two northern towns and one in the Midlands to help bright pupils to get into Oxbridge or other top universities.
In partnership with Star Academies, which runs schools in some of the most deprived parts of Britain, it will launch the sixth forms in Middlesbrough, Oldham and Dudley. Expected to open in September 2025, each is designed to take 240 A-Level pupils every year.
Eton says recruiting the new provost will be an open process undertaken with external advice.
Lord Waldegrave’s replacement will be the 43rd provost, and Eton says the person does not have to be a man.
One of his predecessors in the role from 1936 to 1944 was Hugh Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood, a rebel Tory MP who was best man at Winston Churchill’s wedding.
Lord Waldegrave, a former health secretary, said: “As always, the provost and fellows have had the responsibility of modernising where necessary while conserving what is vital from the past.
“I believe the school is in very good health, and very well led by Simon Henderson and the leadership team.”
