Education of the British royal family

The education of the British Royal Family has changed over time. 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. In subsequent eras—such as the Georgian and Victorian eras, royal education followed the French model, with governors overseeing the child's discipline and moral development, and the preceptors conducting academic instruction. In the modern era, members of the House of Windsor have varying degrees of education. The first heir to the British throne to receive a university degree is the current heir, Charles, the Prince of Wales. Historians have evaluated the impact of royal education on future monarchs' rule.

History

Tudor and Elizabethan eras

The scholar John Cheke (depicted here in an engraving by Joseph Nutting) was tutor to Edward VI of England.

The scholar Erasmus and his fellow humanists, who promoted the liberal arts and sciences over military training for princes, had an influence on the curriculum studied by Henry VIII's children, and later the Stuart princes.

Henry VIII established an elite palace school for his son Prince Edward, selecting fourteen sons of prominent aristocrats to be educated alongside him. Biographer Alison Weir writes: "The men who were given responsibility for the Prince's education were among the most brilliant scholars of their day." Edward was taught by Dr. Richard Cox, a clergyman who later become provost of Eton College and bishop of Ely, as well as John Cheke, the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University. Elizabeth I was well-educated, receiving lessons alongside her brother Edward and later being tutored by William Grindal and Roger Ascham. Elizabeth was proficient in French, Italian and Latin, using these foreign-language skills to interact with foreign diplomats and to create a "sizable body of translations" over the course of her life. Battista Castiglione served as Elizabeth's formal tutor in Italian.

Historian Aysha Pollnitz writes: "While Erasmus never managed to deter English or Scottish royal boys from military training, he did succeed in tipping the scales in letters' favor: between 1534 in England, 1566 in Scotland and the outbreak of the Bishops' Wars in 1639, princes male and female spent more time learning to wield pens than swords or guns." During this period, "British princes were notably bookish" in comparison to the Spanish Hapsburgs (who emphasized "bureaucratic skills, handling weapons, and orthodox piety"). While female royals in early modern Britain were not raised in preparation to rule and received liberal educations that were constrained in comparison to their male relatives, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia all wrote letters generally praised by scholars. Lady Jane Grey was tutored by clergyman John Aylmer, her family's chaplain, and "distinguished herself in her studies beyond her parents' wishes, since they were more interested in preparing her for the stylish life of court" than for serious academic learning.

Stuart era

The education of Charles I of England was overseen by Sir Thomas Murray, who taught Charles "the usual subjects: the Classics, French, Italian, arithmetic and theology" and supervised other tutors to the future king—Charles Guerolt, who taught fencing; John Beauchesne (who taught fine penmanship), and John Norton (who oversaw the library). Charles's education "has been praised and blamed for forming his personality and political conduct" in the lead-up to the English Civil War. Samuel Rawson Gardiner and Conrad Russell believed that Charles's education had not taught him empathy or the ability "to identify both sides of a political or religious question, a skill that may have taught him to appreciate both his opponents' perspectives or at least to anticipate their arguments and negotiate with them effectively."

In 1635, Brian Duppa—dean of Christ Church and a chaplain to Charles I—was appointed tutor to the future Charles II. Duppa was well-suited to the position and had a close relationship with Charles for the rest of his life. Other tutors were brought in as well - including Peter Massonnet, who taught the prince Latin, Spanish, Italian, and most importantly French; Henry Gregory, who taught the prince to write; and Guilaume le Pierrie, a Frenchman hired when Charles was six years old to teach him dancing. In 1638, William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle was placed in overall charge of the prince (then seven years old) as his governor.

Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian eras

In the 18th century, George III had his two eldest sons—his heir Prince George of Wales (later George IV), and Prince Frederick (later the Duke of York and Albany)—educated in emulation of French royal custom. A governor and sub-governor were appointed for the child's discipline and morals, and the preceptor and sub-preceptor for lessons concerning academic subjects.

The role and public perceptions of the monarchy have changed over time, raising "interesting questions about the ideal upbringing and preparation of future constitutional kings and queens, including their formal education." Walter Bagehot, in his book The British Constitution, concluded that a prince's education "can be but a poor education and that a royal family will generally have less ability than other families".

Historians have "assessed how well royal education has prepared monarchs for their political and ceremonial role" in British society. Peter Gordon and Dennis Lawton rated the education of Queen Victoria as good, "yet in contrast no subsequent monarch (or current heir) has been anywhere near adequately educated." Ross McKibbin argues that the educations of George V, Edward VIII, and George VI were "aimless" and "narrow" leaving them with the equivalent to the educations of "landed gentry with military connections."

Although phrenology was largely discredited by the mid-19th century, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had their children evaluated by a phrenologist. He described her eldest son, Edward VII as having a skull that was "feeble and abnormal." Throughout her life, Victoria believed Edward to have a "small, empty brain". Her youngest son, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford, in November 1872. He studied science, art and the modern languages but did not receive a university degree; he was granted an honorary doctorate from Oxford University in 1876. He had "delicate health" and died young.

George VI, the current Queen's father, attended the Royal Naval College Osborne, then used as a junior officer training facility for students of secondary school age; he finished at the bottom of his class. He studied for one year at the University of Cambridge, but did not complete an undergraduate degree.

Modern era

According to The Independent, the royal family "is not known for its intellectualism".

The reigning queen, Elizabeth II, and her sister Margaret were the last members of the royal family to be educated at home by tutors in the traditional manner. Elizabeth and Margaret were home-schooled by their governess Marion Crawford. Private tutors of Elizabeth included the provost of Eton, Henry Marten, who instructed her in constitutional history. She speaks French fluently, learning from a succession of governesses who were native speakers.

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, studied architecture at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Richard graduated in 1966 after completing three years of a five-year architectural course; after a practical year at an office in the Ministry of Public Building and Works, Richard returned to Cambridge and in June 1969 passed both parts of a diploma in architecture. Richard went on to work as an architect.

Elizabeth and Philip's children

After being tutored as a child, Prince Charles was educated at Gordonstoun, a Scottish public school, becoming the first heir to the throne to sit for public examinations when he took his GCE O-levels at age sixteen, passing six. 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.

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 six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels.

Prince Andrew attended Gordonstoun. He had no formal education beyond that.

Prince Edward, 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.

Charles's children

Prince William of Wales, Charles's eldest son and next in line to the throne, entered Eton College in 1995, becoming the first senior member of the royal family to attend Eton. William graduated with A-levels in geography, biology and history of art as well as 12 GCSEs. Following a gap year, William enrolled at St Andrews University in Fife, Scotland, where he graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 degree in geography.

William's younger brother Prince Harry also graduated from Eton; Harry does not have a university degree but completed ten months of officer commissioning training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Prince Andrew's children

His daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, were noted in 2008 as having earned the best grades so far in the Royal Family in their A-levels, better than their father and uncle, and than their older cousins William and Harry. Eugenie ranked first with her two As and a B in art, English literature, and history of art from Marlborough College. Beatrice studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating in 2011 with a 2:1 degree in history and the history of ideas. Eugenie studied at Newcastle University, graduating in 2012 with a 2:1 degree in English and history of art. Beatrice is dyslexic.

Observers' views

Edward VII

Edward VII was described by one of his tutors as having a "lack of power to grasp almost anything put before him".

King Edward VII, Queen Elizabeth's great-grandfather, briefly attended the University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge, but did not graduate from any of them. Dennis Judd, professor of British history at London Metropolitan University has opined that "there is no evidence" Edward's brief time at these universities "did much good" and William Ewart Gladstone said of the king that he "knew everything except what is in books". John Neale Dalton, one of Edward's tutors, surmised of the future king that he had a "weakness of brain, this feebleness and lack of power to grasp almost anything put before him", while another tutor, J. K. Stephen, determined there was no use for Edward to attend university at all since he was unable to understand the words he was reading. As a "tribute to his birth, rather than his intellect" he was granted an honorary LL.D.

Elizabeth II

Historian David Starkey described Elizabeth II in 2007 in his series Monarchy as poorly learned, comparing her cultural refinement and intellectual curiosity to that of a "housewife". According to The Telegraph, his comments prompted rebuttals from several sources. Royal biographer Penny Junor said: "The Queen is certainly cultured even if not that moved by the arts. The Prince of Wales has a great sense of history and a lot of that comes from his mother." Marco Houston, editor of Royalty Monthly, said Elizabeth "may not have had the best formal education, but she has had the best education at the university of life".

Andrew, Duke of York

Andrew, Duke of York'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."

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales, failed her O-level exams before dropping out of finishing school.

Novelist Monica Ali described Diana, Princess of Wales as being able to engage with the public on matters such as mental health in spite of her being "uneducated and intellectually insecure", and 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". In 2010, The Mirror reported the discovery of Diana's O-level exam notes from 1977. At age 16, she wrote about the "genious" [sic] of William Shakespeare and a philosopher she identified as "Aristocktile", but possibly meant Aristotle.

William, Duke of Cambridge

To prepare for eventually taking over management of the Duchy of Cornwall Estate, which William will inherit when his father becomes king, he enrolled in 2014 in a vocational course in agriculture management at Cambridge. The Cornwall estate is a "£760 million (about $1.25 billion) entity established in 1337 to provide a private income for use by the reigning monarch's eldest son," which William will inherit when Prince Charles becomes King. Some criticized his being admitted to the university, saying he got a "free pass" and it was an "insult" to other Cambridge students, who are required to have high grades. But, others noted that the vocationally-oriented course was open to anyone willing to pay for it. The course was organized by the Cambridge Program for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL), whose patron is the Prince of Wales.

Cambridge's student newspaper The Tab initially criticized William's admission. Later its writer backtracked, noting that the course was a short vocational certification and that the university customarily admitted most applicants to it.

Prince Henry of Wales

In 2005 Sarah Forsyth, one of Harry's former teachers at Eton, said that Harry was a "weak student" and alleged that fellow staff had conspired to help him cheat on examinations. Her statement was related to a wrongful dismissal suit Forsyth filed alleging she had been fired for refusing to participate in the alleged cheating scheme. Both Eton and Harry denied the claims. While a tribunal made no ruling on the cheating claim, it "accepted the prince had received help in preparing his A-level 'expressive' project, which he needed to pass to secure his place at Sandhurst". Eton paid £45,000 damages to Forsyth over her dismissal.

See also

• History of education in England
• Education in the United Kingdom

Bibliography

• Aysha Pollnitz, Princely Education in Early Modern Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
• Gordon, Peter; Lawton, Denis (2003), Royal Education: Past, Present, and Future, Psychology Press, ISBN 9780714683867, ISSN 1462-2076