page_title: Education of the British royal family
section_title: Elizabeth and Philip's children and their spouses
hierarchical_section_title: Education of the British royal family / Modern era / Elizabeth and Philip's children and their spouses
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Treffen zwischen Prinzessin Diana und Sri Chinmoy im Kensington-Palast am 21. Mai 1997.English: Princess Diana meeting with Sri Chinmoy, Kensington Palace, May 21st 1997.
context_page_description: The education of the British royal family has changed over time, reflecting shifting ideas about education of the aristocracy and the role of the monarchy in the United Kingdom. Traditionally, heirs to the throne and other royal children were educated privately by tutors. In the Tudor era, ideas of Renaissance humanism—emphasising the liberal arts and sciences and the classics—influenced royal education. Elizabeth I of England, for example, was multi-lingual and wrote a number of translations.
  Later, in the Georgian and Victorian eras, royal education followed the French model, with governors overseeing the child's discipline and moral development, and preceptors conducting academic instruction. In the modern era, members of the House of Windsor have had varying degrees of education. The first heir to the British throne to receive a university degree is the current one, Charles, Prince of Wales. Since the later 20th century, members of the royal family have been educated in public schools, universities and military institutes.
context_section_description: After being tutored as a child, Prince Charles briefly attended Hill House School before entering Cheam School at age eight. Charles spent five years at Cheam, from ages eight to thirteen. Charles was then sent—over the objections of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother—to Gordonstoun, a Scottish public school, becoming the first heir to the throne to sit for public examinations when he took his O-levels at age sixteen, passing six. Charles strongly disliked Gordonstoun, describing the school as "Colditz in kilts" and his time there as a "disastrous" one. Prince Charles entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1967, where he read history, archaeology and anthropology and graduated with a 2:2 degree in 1970. This was the first time in history that a British monarch or heir to the throne had completed a university degree.
  Novelist Monica Ali described Charles's first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, as being able to engage with the public on issues such as mental health in spite of her being "uneducated and intellectually insecure". Princess Michael of Kent has said that Diana struggled with praise on account of her difficult upbringing and because she "did not have much education". According to tapes released in 2004, Diana had said that her immediate family members told her she was "the thick one". Diana failed her O-level examinations (equivalent of a high school diploma in the United States) and later dropped out of finishing school. Journalist John Lanchester said that, while failure on Diana's scale would normally mean one was "astoundingly stupid", Diana had intentionally avoided academic pursuits as part of a master plan not to "put a royal suitor off".
  Anne, Princess Royal was tutored at home as a child by her governess Catherine Peebles, who had also taught Charles. At the age of 13, Anne was sent to Benenden School, a boarding school. In 1968 she graduated with 
  O-Levels and two A-Levels.
  Prince Andrew, Duke of York attended Gordonstoun. He had no formal education beyond that, but completed a Royal Navy commissioning course at Britannia Royal Naval College and other courses during a military career. Andrew's election to the Royal Society in 2013 prompted "Britain's leading scientists" to "revolt" due to Andrew's lack of scientific background, with some noting he had only a high-school level education. In an op-ed in The Sunday Times, Humboldt Prize recipient David Colquhoun opined, in references to Andrew's qualifications, that "if I wanted a tip for the winner of the 14.30 at Newmarket, I'd ask a royal. For most other questions, I wouldn't".
  Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, born in 1964, also went to private schools. In 1982, he left Gordonstoun with several A-levels. He enrolled for two terms at the Wanganui Collegiate School in Wanganui, New Zealand. There he also served as a house tutor and oversaw drama classes. In 1986, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jesus College, Cambridge.
caption: Diana, Princess of Wales, failed her O-level exams before dropping out of finishing school.
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