Royal GCSE results – how Kate Middleton, Harry and William did in their exams
It’s GCSE results day and like many of us, many of the royals have also taken the dreaded exams over the years from Kate Middleton to Prince Harry, with some doing much better than others
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Lady Louise Windsor to get GCSE results
They may have attended the finest schools in the land – but that doesn’t mean royalty gets exempt from the GCSE exams.
As thousands of pupils across the country find out their grades today, royals including Prince William, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge have also once nervously awaited their results.
And when it comes to their grades, some royals aced the exams, while others could have done better – while one didn’t even sit the exams at all.
Here we take a look at royal GCSE results – and what they did next after receiving their eagerly awaited grades…
Prince William
Prince William on his first day at Eton College
Image:
( Universal Pictorial Press)
William attended Eton as did his younger brother Prince Harry
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( Tim Graham/Getty Images)
The future King has proven to be one of the smartest members of the Royal Family.
William spent five years at Ludgrove Prep School in Berkshire before attending prestigious boy’s school Eton College.
Wills managed to walk out with 12 GCSEs – and his results were very impressive.
While it’s not known exactly what grades William got, they were strong enough for him to go on to study his A-levels.
He achieved As in Geography and History of Art and a C in Biology, which earned him a place at St Andrews University.
Before heading to Scotland, William took a gap year to further his studies and was even spotted scrubbing toilets during his educational break.
Kate Middleton
Kate when she graduated from St Andrews
Image:
( Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Kate aced her GCSE exams and went on to take A-levels
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( Getty Images)
The Duchess of Cambridge studied for her GCSEs at Marlborough College in Wiltshire.
It’s one of the best private schools in the country and also the place where Princess Beatrice studied as a teen.
Kate gained 11 GCSEs before going on to achieve As in Maths and Art and a B in English for her A-levels.
Just like Wills, Kate took a gap year before going to university and actually did a surprisingly similar trip, undertaking a Raleigh International programme in Chile.
Then she went to St Andrews to study History of Art and met her future husband.
Prince Harry
Prince Harry in his Eton school uniform
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( PA)
Harry in his Eton dorm
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( Getty Images)
Prince Harry also went to Eton but wasn’t as academically gifted as his older brother.
The young prince was captain of games and represented the school in rugby, polo and cricket.
He still managed to get an impressive 11 GCSEs and went on to study A-levels. After getting a B in Art and D in Geography, Harry decided continuing in higher education wasn’t for him.
Rather than going to university, Harry decided to join the Army instead.
Meghan Markle
Meghan’s education was different to her husband’s
Image:
( Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Growing up in the US, Meghan Markle didn’t follow the same education system as her royal in-laws.
And while we dont know exactly how she got on, we know she was a talented and well-liked pupil.
Meghan began her secondary education at Immaculate Heart High School in 1992 where she was known as a hard working and focused student.
America does not test students using GCSEs or A Levels, and it has not been reported what Meghan got on her SATs (which is the test students take as an entry into university) but it is known that she got the grades she needed to get into university.
She went on gain a double major in Theatre and International Relations at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 2003.
During her time at university, Meghan completed an internship at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she learned to speak Spanish. She also studied French for six years.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie
The Queen’s granddaughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
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( PA)
The York sisters did well in the GCSEs, but it was Eugenie who did better when it came to grades.
Beatrice got nine GCSEs including two A*s when she took her exams.
Her best grades were in history and drama, and also achieved As in French and art with Bs in everything else.
Eugenie scored two A*s, four As and three Bs at the private Marlborough College in Wiltshire.
Speaking at the time, a spokeswoman for their mum Sarah Ferguson said: “She’s feeling relieved and really happy.”
Prince Charles
The Queen and Prince Philip decided to send their children to Gordonstoun, an extremely strict Scottish boarding school that combines learning with physical education.
It’s widely reported that Prince Charles really struggled at the school and hated his time there. He left with five O-levels ( what GCSEs were formerly known as) and two A-levels – a B in History and a C in French.
He then went on to Cambridge University where he achieved a 2:2 degree in History.
The Queen
The Queen didn’t take any formal school exams
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( Getty Images)
You may find this hard to believe but the Queen has no formal education.
In her early childhood, she was taught by a governess from 9.30am until 11am. Following the abdication of her uncle Edward VIII in 1938, Elizabeth needed to prepare herself for her future role and received lessons on constitutional history from the vice provost of Eton, Henry Marten.
“The Queen’s father had disliked school and her mother thought it was more important to have fun,’ Professor Kate Williams, author of Young Elizabeth told Good Housekeeping.
“Unlike her father, the Queen was and is very bright and had an appetite for learning as well as a razor sharp memory.
“The lack of a formal education didn’t harm her as she’s naturally analytical and something of an autodidact, as well as being hard working – which we know now is just as important as raw brainpower.”
However her lack of exam results has never been an issue, and she’s travelled the world and met hundreds of world leaders with no trouble at all. She also fluent in French and a skilled horse rider.
Princess Diana
Princess Diana wasn’t as strong in the classroom as her sons would later prove to be, and she actually failed her exams.
She took O-levels in place of GCSEs but failed, twice. However she quickly found where her talents lied – finishing school. She attended a school in Switzerland and excelled in deportment.
Lady Louise Windsor
Lady Louise with her dad Prince Edward. She was the last royal to take GCSE exams
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( Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock)
Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex’s daughter Lady Louise Windsor is the most recent royal to take the exams, picking up her grades two years ago.
Like all other teens doing their GCSEs in 2020, she wasn’t able to do her exams due to the Covid-19 pandemic so her grades were decided by teachers instead.
Her grades were not made public however it’s understood that she did very well and eventually returned to school to study for A-levels.
She received her A-level results last week and in September, she will be off to St Andrews University to study English.
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