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They may be prepared for a life of public engagement (or even a future as King), but even members of the Royal Family have to take action. GCSE and A-level exams.
Sarah, the Duchess of York, discovered her own O-level results today, when a receipt detailing the result of exams she sat in June 1976 was found in a dusty filing cabinet.
It appears to have been accidentally left behind at Hurst Lodge school in Ascot, where the duchess was a weekly boarder in the early 1970s, and shows that she only passed two subjects: spoken English, with an A, and art, with a C.
But just passing two subjects hasn’t done much harm to Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, who has topped bestseller lists with her children’s books and romance novels.
Fergie may not have been an academic marvel in her youth, but how did other members of the Firm perform in their own school exams?
Sarah, the Duchess of York, discovered her O-Level results today, when a receipt detailing the result of exams she sat in June 1976 was found in a dusty filing cabinet.
Sarah Ferguson (right) with classmates at Hurst Lodge School in Ascot. From left to right: Debbie, Davida Hadden, Sharon O’Toole
king charles
Charles followed his father to Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland, an experience he has since described as a “prison sentence”, calling the independent school “Colditz in kilts”.
The £15,300-a-term boarding school was founded in 1934 by Kurt Hahn, a German Jew who had escaped Hitler, and the late Duke of Edinburgh was one of its first pupils.
It is based in a 17th-century building surrounded by prefabricated houses that were once RAF barracks. Charles arrived at Gordonstoun when he was 13 years old in 1962.
It was clear from the beginning that he was not a fan of the school, writing in a letter home: “I hardly sleep at home because I snore and get hit on the head all the time.” It’s absolute hell.
Another letter sent two years ago said, “The people in my dorm are disgusting.” They throw slippers at me all night or hit me with pillows… Last night was hell, literal hell.
“I wish I could go home.”
Charles left Gordonstoun with five O levels and two A levels: a B in history and a C in French.
He went on to Cambridge and graduated with a 2:2 in History. It is claimed that Carlos’s bodyguard, who attended all of his lectures, scored 2 to 1.
Charles followed his father to Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland, an experience he has since described as a “prison sentence”, calling the independent school “Colditz in kilts”.
queen camilla
Camilla enrolled at Queen’s Gate School in south Kensington at the age of 10, an institution which, at the time, was supposedly intended to “provide wives for the Foreign Office and most of the nobility.”
In 1957, students were taught life skills such as cooking, flower arranging, and how to write checks.
Camilla eventually achieved an O level before leaving Queen’s Gate School at age 16, although it is not known what subject it was in.
He did not take A levels and instead attended Mon Fertile Finishing School in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, and the Institut Britannique in Paris.
In the latter, Camilla spent six months studying French and French literature.
She then had a series of jobs as a secretary and receptionist in her youth.
Queen Camilla visits the Ditchling Museum in Ditchling, East Sussex, in 1956
Princess Diana
Diana, who once described herself as “thick as a board”, didn’t get any O levels.
She was initially educated at Riddlesworth Hall preparatory school in Diss, Norfolk, before enrolling as a boarder at West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent, in 1974.
Although she did not gain any qualifications, she is said to have shown a particular talent for music as an accomplished pianist while at West Heath, as well as for dance and domestic sciences.
She also won the school’s award for the girl who provides the most help to the school and her classmates.
Diana left West Heath in 1977 and attended the Institut Alpin Videmanette finishing school in Switzerland, which she left after the 1978 Easter term.
Diana (above in 1971), who once described herself as “thick as a board”, did not gain any O levels
Prince Andrew
Like his brother and father, Prince Andrew attended Gordonstoun in Scotland.
Despite being known around Gordonstoun as the ‘Sniggerer’ due to his penchant for ‘bawdy jokes’, Andrew achieved six O levels and three A levels in English, history and politics.
He was very briefly an exchange student at Lakefield College School in Ontario, Canada, in 1977, where he spent six life-changing months.
After leaving school with a respectable number of grades, Prince Andrew joined the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) in 1979 to train as a naval officer.
Andrew completed the course at the BRNC in 1980.
Like his brother and father, Prince Andrew (above 1973) attended Gordonstoun in Scotland.
Prince William
Breaking with royal tradition, Prince William was the first senior royal to attend single-sex Eton College when he was 13 in 1995.
William stayed in the school boarding house during the week, but spent weekends with his grandmother, the late Queen, at nearby Windsor Castle.
At Eton, he achieved 12 GCSEs and three A-levels: an A in geography, a B in art history and a C in biology.
During his final year, Prince William was one of 21 elected members of a prestigious society of prefects, whose members were known as “Pop”.
The young royal was also incredibly active, a trait he has maintained as a working royal. In addition to leading the swimming and soccer teams, he is also said to have taken up water polo as well.
After Eton, William attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland, graduating with a 2:1 in geography.
Prince William was the first royal to attend single-sex Eton College when he was 13 in 1995.
Kate Middleton
The Princess of Wales flourished at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she excelled academically and performed well in sports, including hockey and tennis.
There’s no doubt that Kate made a huge impact on her school, and was later hailed as “The Person Most Likely to Be Loved by Everyone” in her yearbook when she went on her gap year.
Kate left Marlborough College with 11 GCSEs and three A-levels: A in maths and art and a B in English.
She then attended the University of St Andrews (where she met Prince William) and emerged with a 2:1 in Art History.
The Princess of Wales flourished at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she excelled academically and performed well in sports, including hockey and tennis.
Prince Harry
Less academic than his brother, Prince Harry also attended Eton College.
He managed to achieve 11 GCSEs and two A levels: a B in art and a D in geography.
But what Harry really excelled at while attending Eton was sports.
He said: ‘I decided that sport would be my thing at Eton,” adding: “The sporting boys were separated into two groups: dry bobs and wet bobs.
‘The dry bobs played cricket, football, rugby or polo. Wet bobs rowed, sailed or swam.
Harry was also a member of the Combined Cadet Force at Eton.
Instead of attending college, he joined the army.
Less academic than his brother, Prince Harry also attended Eton College