A teacher at Princess Charlotte and Prince George’s former private school has been arrested, marking a close call for the royal family. The two elder children of the heir to the throne both attended Thomas’s Battersea, a preparatory school in London England. According to a report by Entertainment Tonight, the school just fired its Deputy Head of Pastoral of Thomas’s, Matthew Smith for his alleged possession of child pornography.
Smith reportedly began working at Thomas’s Battersea after Prince George and Princess Charlotte had already left the school, but nevertheless, the connection struck many royal admirers as eerie. Smith pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges last week, including the possession and distribution of “indecent images of children.” He was also charged with “inciting the sexual exploitation of children,” but the charges do not relate to any students at Thomas’s.
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Still, the staff at the school were horrified to hear about the charges against Smith, and he was fired as soon as they became known. A public statement from the school read: “We have been shocked and distressed to learn of these charges. The safety and well-being of our pupils is, and always will be, our top priority. As there are ongoing criminal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time other than to say that there is no suggestion that the offenses relate to Mr. Smith’s employment at Thomas’s or to any current or former pupils of the school.”
“As soon as the school learned of the charges, Mr. Smith’s employment at the school, which commenced in September this year, was terminated with immediate effect,” the statement concluded. Prince George and Princess Charlotte reportedly left the school earlier in this year, before Smith was ever hired on. They would not have crossed paths with him at all.
The prince and princess both transferred to Lambrook School when their family moved from Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor. Their younger brother Prince Louis is now old enough to attend classes there as well.
Prince George is now 9 years old, Princess Charlotte is 7 years old and Prince Louis is 4 years old. All three are high in the line of succession according to the laws of the U.K. King Charles III will be succeeded by his eldest child Prince William, and if all goes according to plan Prince George will become the new Prince of Wales. However, the royal family continues to make changes and adaptations as its role in modern times evolves.
