Nervous little Prince George arrived for his first day at school this morning with only his father, Prince William, after his pregnant mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, found herself bed-bound due to acute morning sickness.
The four-year-old future king looked very smart in his new uniform, which included a blue official school jumper with red logo, blue Bermuda shorts and blue socks with laceless shoes.
He was driven to £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea, in south west London, from Kensington Palace strapped into a child seat in the rear of the family Range Rover.
William held his son’s hand tightly as they approached the door – 30 years after his mother Diana did the same for him on his first day.
They were greeted by Helen Haslem, head of the lower school, on their arrival at the school gates, before the third in line to the throne, clutching his daddy’s hand, was shown to his new reception year classroom.
His proud mother Kate, 35, had hoped to be there but was simply too poorly, as she is suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which can cause sufferers to vomit up to 50 times a day.
The prince will be known as George Cambridge to his classmates, Kensington Palace said today.
Prince George arrived for his first day at school this morning with only his father Prince William because his mother is cripped with morning sickness – they were greeted by Helen Haslem, head of the lower school
William took his son to school for the first time today 30 years on from when his mother Princess Diana took him to class for the first time
George was driven to £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea, in south west London, from Kensington Palace strapped into a child seat in the rear of the family Range Rover
The Duchess is pregnant with the couple’s third child, a sibling for Princess Charlotte and Prince George (pictured together in Poland in July)
Kensington Palace were forced to announce the news that she and William were happily expecting their third child several weeks early on Monday after the duchess fell ill and had to cancel a major public engagement.
‘She would have done anything to be here,’ a source said.
The Duke of Cambridge and Kate had been expected to drop off their four-year-old son as he starts at Thomas’s Battersea but was too poorly
‘It’s a big day in her son’s life but she really has been very sick.’
Today Kensington Palace confirmed the news Kate would have dreaded.
A spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately The Duchess of Cambridge remains unwell, and will not be able to accompany Prince George on his first day of school. The Duke of Cambridge will drop off Prince George this morning as planned.’
Thomas’s Battersea is a family-run establishment situated in an old grammar school in a well-to-do area of London, nicknamed Nappy Valley because of the large number of affluent families that live there.
He will be in a class of up to 22 children – July baby George will be one of the youngest – all of whom spend just half a day on their first day.
The prince will be given his own coat peg with his name on and a desk.
Most of this morning will be spent getting to know his new teacher and classmates as well as familiarising himself with essentials such as where the toilets are.
The class will also be taken out to the playground for break.
The school places an emphasis on making parents ‘feel secure’ about leaving their children, with a drinks reception, handbook, and workshops to show them what their reception-year offspring are learning. Parents are also be invited to watch lessons and learn how to help their children with phonics at home.
George and his peers will have been invited to a pre-term party to help them settle in.
Thomas’s has been described by the Good Schools Guide as a ‘big, busy, slightly chaotic school for cosmopolitan parents who want their children to have the best English education money can buy.
‘That is what they want and, to a large extent, that is what they get.’
Kate has already said she isn’t sure her son ‘has any idea what’s going to hit him’ when he starts ‘big’ school for the first time.
In choosing Thomas’s, the couple shunned traditional royal feeder schools as Wetherby, where William and his brother, Harry, went, in favour of something they felt offered their son a more ‘village-y’ atmosphere, reminiscent of the education that Kate and her siblings enjoyed.
The school’s new principle, Simon O’Malley, who was also present today, has been described as a ‘silver fox’ by society bible, Tatler, and one of the six ‘hottest headmasters’ in the country.
The Duchess of Cambridge is experiencing Hyperemesis Gravidarum as she did during her pregnancies with Prince George (pictured in 2013) and Princess Charlotte, which leaves sufferers being sick up to 50 times per day
Prince George on his first day at the Westacre Montessori nursery school near Sandringham in Norfolk in 2016
Kate has been struck down with extreme morning sickness that causes victims to vomit constantly
The Duchess, 33, cancelled engagements while pregnant with Princess Charlotte as she battled the condition
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), which strikes just one per cent of pregnancies, is a complication that causes excessive nausea and vomiting.
Unlike regular morning sickness, it doesn’t fade away with time and can leave some women bedbound as they are unable to keep food or drink down.
It is also considered to be the second leading cause of hospitalisation during pregnancy and can lead to dehydration – dangerous to both the mother and child.
If dehydration does strike, babies are at risk of deformities because the constant vomiting can deprive the woman’s body of amniotic fluid – which the baby needs to thrive.
The condition may not clear up completely until the baby is born, although some symptoms may improve at around 20 weeks.
Some pregnant women are sick many times a day, which can have a negative effect on their daily life.
Many mothers-to-be may lose up to 10 per cent of their body weight when they are supposed to be gaining about 1lb a week.
This can trigger a build-up of toxins in the blood or urine known as ketosis as the body tries to compensate for lack of food.
Exactly how many pregnant women get HG is not known as some cases may go unreported, but it’s thought to be around one in every 100.
Each morning starts with a handshake, there’s puy lentils for lunch and ballet is compulsory… but homework isn’t: What’s in store on Prince George’s first day at school
Star pupil: We imagine how Prince George will look today
Today is Prince George’s first day in reception class at Thomas’s Preparatory School in Battersea, one of four elite schools run by the same family in South-West London.
He will be welcomed by a new headmaster, Simon O’Malley, who, despite his grey hair and three decades in teaching, was recently voted one of the UK’s ‘hottest’ six headmasters by society magazine Tatler.
But that’s not what makes this institution fit for a future king, as HELEN CARROLL explains…
THERE’S EVEN A DEBATING CLUB FOR FIVE-YEAR-OLDS
If Mum and Dad are running late, there are no fewer than 24 after-school clubs at Thomas’s. And don’t assume George will be merely moulding Plasticine or painting papier-mache models.
George will have the chance to join a debating club — it’s never too early to train for the Oxbridge societies — study philosophy, learn Italian or try his hand at songwriting, fencing, golf or pottery.
BALLET IS COMPULSORY — AND ALWAYS INVOLVES A LIVE PIANIST
Compulsory for girls and boys, up to the age of seven. Pupils are entered for the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance examination, also putting on ballet shows for family and friends.
Battersea is the only one of the four Thomas’s schools at which ballet lessons, always accompanied by a live pianist, are a set part of the curriculum, leaving observers questioning whether George has, perhaps, inherited his grandmother’s passion for dance (Diana once famously trod the boards with diminutive ballet star Wayne Sleep).
THE SCHOOL RUN IS A NIGHTMARE
Privilege and wealth mean nothing to London traffic and Kate and William should be aware they face a nightmare hour-long round trip, should they wish to do the school run themselves.
They are hands-on parents and, while, according to a source, acknowledge their presence in the playground might ‘cause a bit of a buzz to start with’, are hopeful, naively perhaps, to eventually blend in with the other less regal mums and dads.
Today is Prince George’s first day in reception class at Thomas’s Preparatory School in Battersea, one of four elite schools run by the same family in South-West London
Compulsory for girls and boys, up to the age of seven. Pupils are entered for the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance examination, also putting on ballet shows for family and friends. (File photo, posed by models)
Privilege and wealth mean nothing to London traffic and Kate and William should be aware they face a nightmare hour-long round trip, should they wish to do the school run themselves
HE’LL BE JOINED BY HIS LITTLE SISTER
While an entirely non-controversial choice for most parents, in sending their child to a mixed-gender school, William and Kate are breaking with tradition for the Royal Family. Previous generations have favoured single-sex schools — William and Harry attended Wetherby Boys Prep.
But it means that Charlotte will be able to follow in George’s footsteps in a couple of years’ time — and will even be in the same house as her big brother, as is standard practice with siblings at Thomas’s.
UNIFORM FROM PETER JONES (OF COURSE)
All items are available from that middle-class mecca, Peter Jones in Sloane Square.
As well as a £36 jacket and a £25 jersey in navy, George will also wear navy Bermuda shorts (£23) — even, it seems, when temperatures plummet during winter.
There’s a £10 red polo neck, £7 red socks and a pair of black ‘polishable’, laceless shoes, costing £34 — a wise move to avoid teachers spending all day long retying them.
He’ll also carry a cute rucksack, bearing the school crest, which costs £13, while £7 gloves, hat and scarf, all navy, are optional.
Kitting George out for the year is likely to cost the Cambridges around £580.
While an entirely non-controversial choice for most parents, in sending their child to a mixed-gender school, William and Kate are breaking with tradition for the Royal Family
THERE’S A SCHOOL SKI CHALET
The school owns Daheim ski chalet in the beautiful Wurzeralm region of the Austrian Alps. Bought 25 years ago by the Thomas family, it’s where pupils are taken on trips in years 5 and 6.
Some of the perhaps less well-off parents, coppering up for the £18,000-plus-a-year school fees, are understood to have found cause for complaint at being expected to pay for their children to go skiing while struggling to afford holidays for themselves.
The model Cara Delevingne (above) and singer Florence Welch are among its recent alumni
HE MAY SIT IN CARA’S SEAT!
There has been a school in this Grade II-listed building on Battersea High Street since 1700, when the former Sir Walter St John’s Grammar, the alma mater of author Martin Amis, was established for the ‘betterment of bright, ambitious boys’.
It became an independent school when it was bought by the Thomas family in 1990.
The model Cara Delevingne and singer Florence Welch are among its recent alumni.
EVERY DAY STARTS WITH A HANDSHAKE
Never too early to teach good etiquette, the school day begins and ends with a firm handshake, plus good eye contact with the teacher — highly important skills, of course, for youngsters destined to become leaders in their fields.
There is also an expectation that pupils will be ‘unfailingly courteous and polite’, says the school website.
HOMEWORK IS OPTIONAL
Despite its strong emphasis on academic success, unlike other schools, both state and independent, homework remains optional, up until year 4. It will, therefore, be a few years before it starts eating into the Cambridges’ precious family time.
Rather than being overly pushy, parents are encouraged to allow their children to ‘flop, relax and do nothing’, and are even reminded by staff that ‘like everything else in moderation, boredom is good’.
ONLY BRIGHT SPARKS NEED APPLY
At the tender age of just two or three, Thomas’s hopefuls must take an entrance exam, which, as few are yet able to read and write with any proficiency, relies on natural intelligence, not exam preparation.
Equally prestigious nearby prep schools don’t put applicants through a selection process at this early stage. No doubt there have been plenty of would-be parents weeping into their macchiatos after being rejected this year.
Despite its strong emphasis on academic success, unlike other schools, both state and independent, homework remains optional, up until year 4. It will, therefore, be a few years before it starts eating into the Cambridges’ precious family time. (Above, the family in July)
THE FOUNDER IS A FORMER ACTRESS
Joanna Thomas, 76, a former actress and a mother of three, started the Thomas brand by setting up a kindergarten in Pimlico in 1971.
Six years later, her husband, one-time Gurkha Officer, David, joined his wife in founding the first Thomas independent day school for older children, in Kensington. The ethos mirrored their own as parents — high academic aims, with a wide curriculum taught by energetic staff.
There were accusations of nepotism when the couple’s son, Ben, who had no teaching qualifications, was appointed head some years ago, beating 11 other candidates.
Their other son, Tobyn, was then director of administration for the four schools and just so happened to be on the selection panel. Both stepped down this month to make way for Simon O’Malley — with Ben speaking of studying for a teaching qualification in his spare time.
PUPILS DINE LIKE (HEALTHY) KINGS …
There’s a strict emphasis on healthy food, with no additives or hydrogenated fats and limited in both salt and sugar.
Hopefully, George has developed a more sophisticated palate than most four-year-olds as the menu includes lamb ragout with garlic and herbs, smoked mackerel on a bed of puy lentils and pork stroganoff with red peppers.
‘We recognise that a balanced diet stimulates the brain, improves concentration, helps the children to study and assists with memory,’ trumpets the school website.
There’s a strict emphasis on healthy food, with no additives or hydrogenated fats and limited in both salt and sugar. (File photo)
SPORT IS VERY COMPETITIVE
The school puts a strong emphasis on physical activity — something understandably important to Kate, known for her sporting prowess in her youth. However, some parents are said to have objected to the policy of ranking each child in the annual cross country run, right down to ‘last and 200th’ — an approach that has since been dropped.
But it has been noted by parents that staff are pretty upfront when it comes to imparting how their child is performing in relation to peers. So that’s game on for the pushiest parents with children in the future king’s class.
The school puts a strong emphasis on physical activity — something understandably important to Kate, known for her sporting prowess in her youth. (File photo, posed by models)
IT’S RATHER EXPENSIVE
Fees start at £5,868 per term, aged four, and rise to £6,628 from the age of seven. Additional charges are made for after-school clubs, drama and music lessons, which could add up to a further £1,355 per term.
There is also the option of a door-to-door school bus service, at a further cost of £605 a term.
Unless a team of security officers rides up front with him, it is, however, hard to imagine the heir to the throne taking advantage of this on his journeys to and from Kensington Palace.
KINDNESS IS A SCHOOL RULE
The highlight of each term is the school’s Be Extra Kind Day where pupils, from reception up, learn about human rights and those less well-off in the world.
The most important school rule is ‘be kind’ and the aim is for pupils to ‘leave this school with a strong sense of social responsibility’ and to ‘flourish as conscientious and caring citizens of the world’.
IT’S IN YUMMY MUMMY LAND
Nappy Valley, the name given to the family-centred area of South-West London where the school is located, is notorious for its slim, glamorous and ferociously competitive yummy mummies, many of whom have abandoned six-figure salaries to focus on their little Tabithas and Tarquins.
How many of them will be able to resist sidling up to Kate at pick-up time, hoping for a birthday party invitation — or, better still, an intimate playdate at Kensington Palace with a future king — for their little darlings?