The question of Prince George’s education is something the public is very interested in, and allegedly, the Prince and Princess of Wales are not on the same page when it comes to the choice of school for their eldest son.
Unfortunately, Kate Middleton’s perspective is rooted in her own childhood experiences, and she is determined to prevent George from facing the same challenges she did.
When Kate Middleton’s parents started their company, Party Pieces, the future Princess was just a five-year-old girl. The company was a huge success and the Middletons were able to provide good education to their children, including Kate, who was sent to the all-girls boarding school Downe House for which her parents paid around £28,000 pounds in tuition. Sadly, that didn’t turn out to be the best decision as Kate experienced a very hard time there. According to her former classmates, she was often teased and bullied and she felt like she didn’t fit there.
A friend at a later school, Gemma Williamson, previously told the Daily Mail, “Apparently, she had been bullied very badly, and she certainly looked thin and pale. She had very little confidence.” Kate’s former classmate Emma Sayle said the princess hated that her school was “cliquey.”
“It is a very cliquey school, and there was a lot of pressure,” she told RSVP Live, as quoted by Express.
“The girls were all high achievers, and there were lots of girls with eating disorders. Everyone wanted to be the best, the fittest, the prettiest. I think Kate was miserable from the start.”
“Being especially slender and a head taller than her peers, she stood out for the wrong reasons and was teased for being gangly and lanky,” royal expert Katie Nicholl added.
Former Downe House student Georgina Rylance said how she believes Kate didn’t really fit in because she enrolled the school two years after her peers did. “It does make a difference going from eleven,” she told the Sunday Times, as per royal expert Katie Nicholl. “You have two years of bonding, your first time away all together. Even some of the most popular girls in my school had a hard time when they came in at thirteen.”
Further, Kate was really into hockey and the school only offered lacrosse, something that Kate hadn’t tried before. And even when she didn. she wasn’t good at it which made her disappointed.
When she told her parents how she felt, many said she was ‘too sensitive.’
“Certainly, I have no knowledge of any serious bullying at all. But there’s what everyone calls bullying, and there’s actual, real, miserable bullying where someone had a dreadful time,” Susan Cameron, then headmistress the school, told The Mirror.
“That certainly didn’t happen. Yes, there would be teasing. It’s all a part of the normal competition of growing up, of establishing a pecking order,” she continued.
“Girls are cliquey by nature, and they can be rather cruel. If you’re attractive, too, that can be seen as rather a threat. They can sense those who are slightly weaker or who haven’t shown their strengths yet, and it’s those girls who are likely to end up being picked on or teased.
“I think it’s fair to say she was unsettled and not particularly happy. Maybe in Catherine’s case, she just kind of went quiet and didn’t say anything,” the former headmistress continued, adding that if Kate had been in deed badly bullied, she wouldn’t be the woman she is today.
Eventually, Kate changed schools. She enrolled Marlborough College where she thrived and was loved by everyone. According to her former classmates, many boys were into her because she was s real beauty.
According to royal experts, Kate’s unpleasant experience has a lot to do with how she raises her children and that’s one of the reasons why she and William wish they have ordinary childhood.
Although George is still young, his parents do consider possible college choices for him.
In October of last year, the young prince was seen with his parents, touring Eton College, which both Prince William and Prince Harry attended in the past.
Eton’s fees amount to around £46,000 ($59,000) per year. Although Prince George won’t start at the school until he turns 13, children must be registered during the year they turn 10, as stated on the school’s website.
So, what would it indicate if George were to enroll at Eton? According to The Express’ royal correspondent, Richard Palmer, it would unexpectedly reveal significant insights into Kate’s choices and values.
“I find it fascinating because the Princess of Wales is spending so much of her life talking about giving children a better start in life, and part of that, she and her advisors have talked about reducing inequality,” Palmer said.
“And there you have her children at a fee-paying independent school, almost certain to go to an expensive fee-paying boarding school later on.”
However, if the Prince and Princess of Wales claim they wish for ordinary childhood for their children, why would they choose a boarding school like Eton?
“The choice of school for the children will tell us a lot about William and Catherine,” former BBC royal expert Jennie Bond said.
“So far, they’ve been such a hands-on parents and, personally, I think it would be sad to see them send their children away to boarding school. I would applaud a decision to keep them as day pupils at schools nearby their home. But I think both William and Catherine were happy at boarding school. I suppose it’s what they know, and perhaps they will want to pass this experience on to their children.”
Bond added, “I imagine it will be all or nothing – in other words, all three will go away to school, or none of them. I will be cheering loudly if they decide to keep their children close and nurture them through their adolescence as they have nurtured them through the young years.”
As per In Touch Weekly, Kate reluctantly agreed to Prince George’s desire to emulate his father and attend Eton. However, it’s not something she would have initially chosen due to her own boarding school experiences.
“But she’s still heartbroken. She was horribly bullied at her first boarding school and can’t bear the thought of George suffering through that,” a source said.
Although Eton is close to Windsor and George would likely visit his parents every weekend, Kate will still miss him a lot.
“Kate thinks sending George to such a stuffy, upper-crust institution goes against all of their efforts to modernize the monarchy,” a source said.
“Kate long disagreed with her husband about sending him away, even though it’s tradition,” but she is “finally giving in” to her husband’s wishes.
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