Prince George Reports for Big Brother Duty to Accompany Princess Charlotte on First Day of School

Princess Charlotte has a big advantage of her first day of school: her big brother, Prince George, is there to show her the royal ropes!

The 6-year-old future King already has two years at Thomas’s Battersea, the $23,000-per-year private school some three miles from the family’s Kensington Palace home, under his belt — and George was there on Thursday to accompanying his little sister, 4, as she nervously made the transition from nursery school.

And it was a good thing George was on-hand as the typically “outgoing” princess was noticeably shy on her first day of school. Charlotte clutched mom Kate Middleton‘s hand on their walk to the school’s entrance.

The scene was very similar to George’s first day two years ago, when he nervously held dad Prince William’s hand and made his own shy walk to class. This year, George confidently strode into school with his sister by his side.

Dressed in his summer uniform — a blue button-down shirt, shorts and a navy sweater with the school’s logo in red — George looked quite confident heading into school for the first day of the new year, clearly excited to reunite with friends after the summer break. His demeanor showed quite a change from two years ago when he started school and first day jitters appeared to take over (although he did sport a big smile for a portrait with dad Prince William on the steps of Kensington Palace before heading off).

A source previously told PEOPLE that the future monarch is “very happy” at his school, where he is simply known as George Cambridge.

In addition to core subjects like math, English, science and history, students are taught an era of enrichment classes, including French, computing, drama and ballet.

Although Prince Louis, 1, stayed home, proud parents Kate Middleton and Prince William were also on-hand for Charlotte’s big day. Although Kate was expected to join her son for his first day two years ago, she was forced to cancel her plans due to acute morning sickness she was suffering during her pregnancy with Prince Louis. Hyperemesis Gravidarum also afflicted Kate during her previous two pregnancies.

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An insider previously told PEOPLE that Princess Charlotte “can’t wait to be with George at big school. She is so excited about it all.”

“They are close in age, and they spend so much time together,” adds the insider. “Playdates [with outsiders] can be tricky, so they learn to lean on each other.”