Prince William and Kate Middleton may be working royals and next in line to the British throne, but that isn’t stopping them from breaking more than just a few royal traditions. As their three children – Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 – prepared to start a new school year, the royal couple opted to send them down a different educational path than other members of the British royal family.
During their own childhoods, William and his brother Prince Harry attended Mrs. Mynors Nursery School, then Wetherby School and Ludgrove School, both of which were all-boys institutions. However, instead of sending George and Louis to those same schools and Charlotte to an all-girls school, similar to her great aunt Princess Anne, who attended Benenden School, an independent school for girls in Kent, England, the Wales decided to find a coeducational school for all three of their children. As the Wales children returned to school last week, they headed back to Lambrook School, a school that allows all three children to attend together and “has been protective of the siblings’ privacy,” according to a source who spoke to Entertainment Tonight.
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Lambrook allows William and Middleton “to insulate their children from the pressures of their future so they can enjoy a normal childhood,” according to the source. Located in the Berkshire countryside, the school prohibits photographers and the royal press pack from taking pictures, and instead only allows a small pool of one still photographer and one TV crew on milestones, per the source. This allows the royal parents “to do the school run uninterrupted and free from paparazzi.”
Set on 52 acres, Lambrook School also offers the Wales kids some pretty amazing facilities, including an indoor pool, a golf course, an art and dance studio, and an orchard, and also offers field hockey and a soccer field, a big plus for young George, who is an avid soccer player.
George, Charlotte, and Louis returned to Lambrook School on Wednesday, Sept. 6, marking their second year at the institution. Prior to attending the school, George and Charlotte attended Thomas’s Battersea in London, while Louis was still attending nursery school before the family relocated from London to Windsor last summer. Lambrook School goes up to age 13, meaning George only has a few more years at the institution. There are some indications that following his time at Lambrook, he will follow in his father’s footsteps, as the young royal was spotted at Eton College with his parents earlier this year.