Since Prince George started school in 2017, Prince William and Kate Middleton have based themselves in London at Kensington Palace, with their children attending St Thomas’s School in Battersea. But today they have announced Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are starting at Lambrook School in Berkshire in September as the family make Windsor their base.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have today announced that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will attend Lambrook School in Berkshire from September 2022,” Kensington Palace said in a statement at midday today in the UK. “Their Royal Highnesses are hugely grateful to Thomas’s Battersea where George and Charlotte have had a happy start to their education since 2017 and 2019 respectively and are pleased to have found a school for all three of their children which shares a similar ethos and values to Thomas’s.”
The move, which a Palace source told Town & Country has been driven by their desire to have as normal a family life as possible, allows William and Kate the opportunity to offer their children a more rural upbringing away from central London and the hustle and bustle of Kensington Palace, which is a popular tourist attraction. They will move into Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate, a four-bedroom property that their nanny Maria Borrallo will not live in. However, Apartment 1a at Kensington Palace will remain the family’s London home, and they are also keeping Anmer Hall in Norfolk as a country property in a move that is likely to attract criticism at a time when the cost of living is seeing many families struggle.
Lambrook School is set in 52 acres of Berkshire countryside and takes pupils aged 3 to 13. The annual fees for the next school year are £20,997 ($24,746) for Prince George’s year group, £19,344 ($22,798) for Charlotte and £13,167 ($15,525) for a full-time nursery place for Louis, although it is not known if the Cambridges will send their youngest full-time. Prince George will be starting year five, Charlotte going into year three and Louis will be in the nursery.
The Good Schools Guide, which provides independent reviews of 1,300 schools across the UK, describes Lambrook as “sociable” and “volunteering and charity prominent.”
“Teachers strike balance between relaxed and fun but totally in control—unflustered by the hustle and bustle,” the guide reads. “Academics gentler than at pushy local and London preps, but yield effective results.” The guide highlights how the school values sustainability, volunteering and charity, with children planting trees, collecting eggs from rescue chickens and tending to vegetable patches. “Year 7 don’t just go canoeing on the lakes in Sweden—everyone raises £500 ($590) to enable an underprivileged child to do the same (through Teenage Wilderness Trust),” the guide states.
Headmaster Jonathan Perry told the Good Schools Guide, “We want them to be leaders, want them to be outward-looking. We’d be really sad if our children were arrogant so-and-sos.” The guide outlines how children entering from year four and upwards must complete an assessment and a meeting with families is held to decide entry for the younger years. It also outlines how many children move to the school from a London prep school and that when pupils leave the school age 13, they often go on to prestigious fee-paying secondary schools such as Eton or Charterhouse.
Jonathan Perry, Headmaster at Lambrook School, said: “We are delighted that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will be joining us this coming September and very much look forward to welcoming the family, as well as all of our new pupils, to our school community.”
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She was the Daily Mirror‘s Royal Correspondent and is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America.