All across the country, children have been heading back to school after a lengthy break – and royal infants, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, are no exception. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, plenty of new rules have been put in place to protect both the staff and students returning to their classrooms, and again, the same is true at Thomas's Preparatory School in Battersea (where Prince William and Kate Middleton's two eldest study).
Some changes at the school include the cancellation of swimming lessons and a notice being sent out to parents, letting them know that children must be dropped by the school gates. However, it seems that one of these rules has a little loophole to it, meaning the royals don't need to abide by.
Writing about their return to education, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl said in a recent Vanity Fair piece, "It’s been an eventful week for Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who returned to Thomas’s school in south London. William and Kate have been homeschooling their children since March, but [they] returned for the first day of term on Monday [7 September]."
She added that unusually, this year no photos have been shared, "While Kensington Palace did not release any images of the children’s first day back, George who has moved into Year 3 and Charlotte who is in Year 1 are said to be thrilled to be back at school with their friends, even though some activities such as swimming have been suspended."
As for that rule that George and Charlotte can skip? "According to one parent, the school has installed numerous COVID prevention measures and parents now have to drop children at the school gates. The Cambridges, however, are still able to drive their children into the school grounds."
Now, we imagine this is likely due to security reasons, rather than George and Charlotte just being given preferential treatment for the sake of it. The Cambridges have sung the school's praises in the past, with Prince William recently joking with a fellow parent during a royal engagement, "I think every parent is breathing a sigh of relief that school has started again. Five months – it's been wonderful, but it's been a long five months."
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While there, George and Charlotte adopt the surname Cambridge, to keep things nice and simple. To be fair, we can totally see how it'd feel a tad awkward being addressed by your teacher as 'Prince George of Cambridge, third in line to the throne' when you're just trying to get on with your times tables.
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Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
