By the time Prince William was the age that his eldest son is now, he had already completed his first year at boarding school.
That one — Ludgrove, in Wokingham, Berkshire — was among the educational establishments the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited when looking for a new school for Prince George, who celebrated his ninth birthday just a few weeks ago.
But ultimately — tellingly — it was not their final choice.
Instead they alighted upon £21,000-a-year Lambrook School, near Ascot, just a 15-minute drive from four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage which, from next week, will become their new home on the Queen’s Home Park estate at Windsor.
The decision has not been without controversy. As Richard Kay wrote in yesterday’s Mail, at the time of an exploding cost-of-living crisis, taking possession of a third home could look clumsily insensitive.
However, it says much about the way in which this modern royal couple, future King and Queen but first and foremost parents, have made the lives of their children, and indeed family life as a whole, the focus of everything they do.
By the time Prince William (right) was the age that his eldest son is now, he had already completed his first year at boarding school. Although William’s school days were largely positive, going to boarding school at an early age wasn’t always easy
By contrast to her husband, the Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed her own formative years far away from the goldfish bowl of royal life, at her rural prep school in Pangbourne. Pictured: Kate Middleton on her final day at St. Andrew’s School
Having had varied experiences of schooling themselves, they have a clear vision of what they want for their children — Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis — and that appears to include the opportunity to have as close to a normal family life as possible.
Three siblings beginning each day together at the shared family breakfast table, then heading off to the same co-educational school — what a refreshing break from a royal tradition of single-sex schools, and boarding schools at that (although that may still be on the cards).
Although William’s school days were largely positive, going to boarding school at an early age wasn’t always easy.
He has spoken of how he still likes the Tina Turner song The Best which his mother would play to him and his brother Harry in the car when they were heading back to Ludgrove to reduce the anxiety of the trip.
‘You’d be singing and listening to music right the way up to the gates of school when they dropped you off, and that’s when reality kind of sunk in — you really were going back to school.’
Princess Diana, of course, strived for a ‘normal life’ for her sons, despite their royal status, an influence which is now being seen in their choices.
By contrast to her husband, the Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed her own formative years far away from the goldfish bowl of royal life, at her rural prep school in Pangbourne.
She loved her time at St Andrew’s School. It was there that she developed her passion for sport — swimming, hockey and netball — and also for drama (she played the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in a production of My Fair Lady).
Evidence of just how much she relished her time there and why she might have sought something similar for her own children can be found in words she shared with pupils when she visited in 2012.
‘It is such a treat to be back here,’ she said. ‘I absolutely loved my time here; they were some of my happiest years . . . in fact, I enjoyed it so much that when I had to leave, I told my mother that I was going to come back to be a teacher.
‘It was while I was here at school that I realised my love of sport. Sport has been a huge part of my life, and I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunities I had to get outside and play in such wonderful open spaces.’
If there were any less happy aspect to Kate’s school years, it would perhaps be her two-term stint at her first secondary school, Downe House, an all-girls independent boarding school also in Berkshire.
She was a day pupil, not a boarder, and was by all accounts quite miserable.
The headmistress at the time denied Kate was bullied, although conceded a ‘catty’ atmosphere may have left her feeling like a fish out of water. At her 2011 wedding, Beatbullying was one of the charities the couple asked guests and well-wishers to donate to.
Having had varied experiences of schooling themselves, they have a clear vision of what they want for their children — Prince George (second from right), nine, Princess Charlotte (left), seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis — and that appears to include the opportunity to have as close to a normal family life as possible
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte watching the Artistic Gymnastics at Arena Birmingham on day five of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Whatever the root of the problem, Kate left in the middle of the academic year and went on to enrol at co-educational (just like Lambrook) Marlborough College, in Wiltshire, as did both her siblings. Here, Kate thrived — as she no doubt hopes her own three children will.
It is surely no coincidence that Lambrook is only 30 miles from the children’s grandparents, Michael and Carole Middleton, who will doubtless have been consulted.
In an interview with Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Kate said: ‘I had a very happy childhood. It was great fun. I’m very lucky, I’ve come from a very strong family. My parents were hugely dedicated to us — my siblings. I really appreciate now as a parent how much they sacrificed for us.’
That Kate might see her mother as a key feature as she maps out the educational path of her own brood, would come as no surprise.
On the same podcast, she spoke of her grandmother Valerie Glassborow, who worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during World War II.
She said: ‘I had an amazing granny who devoted a lot of time to us, playing with us, doing arts and crafts and going to the greenhouse to do gardening, and cooking with us.
‘And I try and incorporate a lot of the experiences that she gave us at the time into the experiences that I give my children now.’
William’s educational path was, by contrast, solidly single-sex. At four he was sent to Wetherby Preparatory School (all boys) in West London and then spent five years as a boarder at Ludgrove before heading to Eton College.
It was Prince Charles and Princess Diana who chose to send William and Harry to Eton instead of the Royal Family’s alma mater Gordonstoun, which Prince Charles described as ‘Colditz in kilts’. They wanted to ensure the brothers — once the firmest of friends — could support each other through difficult times. And they did.
While for Kate school was an outlet for all that sporting prowess, for William it was also a sanctuary, a place separate from the acrimony of his parents’ divorce and somewhere that provided stability in the difficult years that followed his mother’s death.
At Eton, times could be tough, often because of events outside the gates. He once invited nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke to attend his June 4 picnic celebrations in place of his parents.
His housemaster Dr Andrew Gailey was an important source of support — it was in his study that William watched his mother’s bombshell Panorama interview in which she revealed there were three people in her marriage.
Dr Gailey’s role in William’s young life earned him an invitation to the royal wedding in 2011 and the title of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).
Dr Gailey was cited as influencing William’s university choice, having studied at St Andrews himself.
At Lambrook many pupils go on to schools such as Eton, for which Prince George is earmarked.
As well as being co-ed, Lambrook does offer flexi-boarding, ranging from one night every so often to five nights a week, so this may remain an option.
But given the decisions the Duke and Duchess have made thus far — moving their family to a cottage with no room for live-in staff, choosing a school not well-known for its royal links, ensuring all three of their children will be on the same school run from September — they may yet have something different in mind.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Claudia Joseph
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