Royal education has changed dramatically over the past few generations alone, with traditional home tutors swapped for in-house teaching at local schools and universities.
In Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret’s case, they were the last generation of British royals to be taught behind palace walls, receiving lessons in the liberal arts, sciences, and language by governess Marion Crawford.
Meanwhile, the late Queen’s eldest son, King Charles, was the first royal to embark on higher education, attending Trinity College in Cambridge from 1967 to 1970.
A handful of these changes have not been planned, however. Join us as we take a look at when royals have unexpectedly dropped out of schools, from the Princess of Wales fleeing bullies to Prince George moving across the country.
© Reg BurkettKing Charles
Buckingham Palace surprised royal fans when it announced that the then-eight-year-old Prince Charles would be swapping lessons with a private tutor for a school education as a day pupil at Hill House, starting in November 1956.
However, his education there lasted just ten months before he switched schools to board at Cheam in Berkshire, just like his father, Prince Philip.
He went on to study at Gordonstoun in Scotland from 1962 to 1967, where his son Prince Harry later revealed in his autobiography Spare that he was “horrendously bullied”.
“The most likely victims of Gordonstoun bullies, [my father] said, were creative types, sensitive types, bookish types – in other words, Pa,” Harry wrote. “His finest qualities were bait for the toughs. I remember him murmuring ominously: I nearly didn’t survive.”
© WireImagePrincess Kate
It wasn’t just members of the royal family who were subject to bullying. Aged 14, the Princess of Wales was picked on at all-girls boarding school Downe House, leaving her “thin and pale”, possibly due to the fact that she was a day student and had less time to bond with the boarders.
Halfway through the term, Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, transferred her to Marlborough College, where she boarded between 1996 and 2000, and thrived as captain of the women’s field hockey team.
© Getty ImagesPrince George
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ eldest son didn’t spend long at Westacre Montessori School Nursery in Norfolk before he was moved to Thomas’s Battersea in September 2017, aged five.
However, he was forced to leave the $23,000-a-year prep school when William and Kate moved to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor in 2022. George and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, enrolled in Lambrook School in Berkshire, with George entering year five while his sister went into year three.
© Photonews via Getty ImagesPrince Emmanuel
The latest royal to drop out of university is Prince Emmanuel of Belgium, who left his bachelor’s degree in International Business Management and Marketing at the UCLL University College in Leuven after just one semester (three months).
The youngest son, 20, of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde has instead chosen to start a French-language business development course at ISTEC in Brussels, the Royal Palace confirmed to HLN.
© GettyPrince Christian
King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark pulled their 16-year-old son, Prince Christian, out of Herlufsholm Boarding School in June 2022, after a TV documentary that exposed bullying and violence at the school.
The royals released the following statement: “As parents of a child who goes to Herlufsholm, we are deeply shaken by the testimonies that have emerged in the current documentary about the school.
“It is heartbreaking to hear about systematic bullying and about the culture of abuse and violence that many have been a part of. That is completely unacceptable.
“As parents, we expect the school to effectively ensure a culture where everyone is safe and part of the community, and we will in the coming time follow the changes that are obviously necessary.”
He moved to Ordrup Gymnasium instead, where he graduated in June 2024.
© KongehusetPrincess Josephine
Meanwhile, Christian’s sister, Princess Josephine, moved to Ingrid Jespersens Gymnasieskole in Copenhagen for 9th grade in 2026, which marks her fourth school in three years.
She surprised fans when she left her twin brother, Prince Vincent, at Tranegårdskolen in 2023 for Kildegård School, where she studied until 2025 before moving to Spir Efterskole from 2025 to 2026.
The Danish royals had explained that her decision to attend the one-year boarding school was of her own accord. “HRH Princess Josephine has chosen, at her own request, to continue her education in the 8th grade at Spir Efterskole,” a statement released in August 2025 read.