William and Harry's Education

[Mermaid1962]

I think that Andrew enjoyed his time at school in Canada. He has an ongoing relationship with the school and returns often unofficially. He probably had some homesickness at first, which would have been normal.

 

[Lumutqueen]

How's the education different? Because of the history or just the universities in general?

Just the universities in general.
The education would be different in every country.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

Just the universities in general.
The education would be different in every country.

Okay, I get what you mean now.

 

[Sereta]

William could have done an internship somewhere after finishing school. For example he could've worked on Wall Street to learn about the world economy or the U.N.N. in New York City or somewhere else just to get some kind of "worldly" education and experience.

 

[Iluvbertie]

William could have done an internship somewhere after finishing school. For example he could've worked on Wall Street to learn about the world economy or the U.N.N. in New York City or somewhere else just to get some kind of "worldly" education and experience.

He did do some of that - but in London.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Why wouldn't William have gone to St Andrews? He didn't get the marks for Oxford or Cambridge and St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland so it was the obvious choice once his marks were as low as they were.

 

[lucymae88]

Why wouldn't William have gone to St Andrews? He didn't get the marks for Oxford or Cambridge and St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland so it was the obvious choice once his marks were as low as they were.

I'm not saying St. Andrew's isn't a great college. Just that had Diana been alive I don't see him going there and I think Diana would have encouraged him to study outside of Great Britain. William had the chance to go to Oxford and Cambridge but didn't want too. His Prince William, he could have went to any college he wanted no matter his grades. Harry got into Sandhurst and his marks were low for Sandhurst.

 

[Queen Camilla]

I'm not saying St. Andrew's isn't a great college. Just that had Diana been alive I don't see him going there and I think Diana would have encouraged him to study outside of Great Britain. William had the chance to go to Oxford and Cambridge but didn't want too. His Prince William, he could have went to any college he wanted no matter his grades. Harry got into Sandhurst and his marks were low for Sandhurst.

Diana could not have influenced William's choice of university. The RF wanted to send William to Scotland so he could have a connection with the Scottish country. There were a few newspaper articles written on this subject between 1996-1999.

William's search & rescue job in Wales was for the same reason.

 

[lucymae88]

Diana could not have influenced William's choice of university. The RF wanted to send William to Scotland so he could have a connection with the Scottish country. There were a few newspaper articles written on this subject between 1996-1999.

William's search & rescue job in Wales was for the same reason.

The royal family didn't have nothing to do with him going to St. Andrew's. Charles at the time even publicly said that he had wanted William to go to Cambridge cause he went there and didn't think William would be happy in Scotland. William went to St. Andrew's cause he wanted too and it was his choose. Diana influenced her sons lives a lot, I think she would have influenced his picks of colleges too.

 

[Queen Camilla]

The royal family didn't have nothing to do with him going to St. Andrew's. Charles at the time even publicly said that he had wanted William to go to Cambridge cause he went there and didn't think William would be happy in Scotland. William went to St. Andrew's cause he wanted too and it was his choose. Diana influenced her sons lives a lot, I think she would have influenced his picks of colleges too.

Do you really believe Diana had more influence on her son's choice for university than the RF?

 

[Iluvbertie]

The royal family didn't have nothing to do with him going to St. Andrew's. Charles at the time even publicly said that he had wanted William to go to Cambridge cause he went there and didn't think William would be happy in Scotland. William went to St. Andrew's cause he wanted too and it was his choose. Diana influenced her sons lives a lot, I think she would have influenced his picks of colleges too.

Diana couldn't overrule the RF on where William went to university.

Charles may have wanted him to go to Cambridge - but also knew he didn't have the marks to go there and so would have needed to pull strings to get him in. That was acceptable in the 1960s for Charles and even the 1980s for Edward but not by the late 1990s and so William couldn't go to Oxbridge.

The Royal Family - the Queen in particular - wanted him to go to uni in Britain - no way would the British family or public accept him going to uni in the USA - a Commonwealth country such as Australia or Canada maybe as a post-graduate but not as an undergraduate. They know that their own universities are world class so why go to anywhere outside of Britain when they could go to a British university?

Diana had to have the Queen's permission to take her sons out of the country - actually to have contact with them at all. The Queen never refused but if Diana had tried to push she would then have come up against The Queen in a way she wouldn't have won.

William knew that at St Andrew's he would have a high degree of privacy - which he did have, he had a 'bolt-hole' at Balmoral where he could take his friends etc and he had an agreement in place to allow him to move around without press intrusion. Even tourists were told - 'if you see William in the streets you are asked not to stare or to take photos' (my personal experience of visiting St Andrews while he was still an undergraduate and it was mentioned 3 - 4 times as we approached St Andrews and again once we were there). Given the higher number of tourists in Oxford or Cambridge that would have been harder to enforce but would still have been asked.

 

[lucymae88]

Do you really believe Diana had more influence on her son's choice for university than the RF?

Like I said William went to St. Andrew's because he wanted too, not cause of the RF. I think if Diana had been alive he wouldn't have went to St. Andrews. I think Diana would have encouraged him to go somewhere that wouldn't have been the RF first pick. Even though Diana is gone she is still influencing how her sons live there lives. I don't think the Queen has ever once told Charles how to raise his sons or told them were they had to go to school. If the RF was controlling their schooling Harry would have been sent to University too willing or not.

 

[cepe]

Like I said William went to St. Andrew's because he wanted too, not cause of the RF. I think if Diana had been alive he wouldn't have went to St. Andrews. I think Diana would have encouraged him to go somewhere that wouldn't have been the RF first pick. Even though Diana is gone she is still influencing how her sons live there lives. I don't think the Queen has ever once told Charles how to raise his sons or told them were they had to go to school. If the RF was controlling their schooling Harry would have been sent to University too willing or not.

I dont think so. Andrew never went to university - he wanted to go into the navy and that's what he did. Anne never went either although she had 3 good A levels. The Queen has never really minded (or taken an interest, depending on people'sview of HMQ as a mother) what her children wanted to do as long as it wasn't illegal or brought down the monarchy.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Harry couldn't go to university - he barely past high school.


The royal family had reached the point where they no longer forced universities to take their offspring if they didn't get the marks and hence no Oxbridge for William - didn't have the marks so St Andrews it was. Only Charles and Edward of the Queen's children went to uni. Anne never wanted to go and Andrew wanted to go straight into the navy - same as Harry wanted to go straight into the army so they would never have forced him to experience further failure at university when he could experience success in the army.


Diana had no experience of university so would have had little experience to draw upon to influence her sons - and Charles would have had a say as well - along with William's friends, many of whom also went to St Andrew's.


Diana's influence was only influence on her sons - and the BRF's influence was very strong.


Remember that Diana only spent around 6 weeks a year with her sons after the separation due to the fact that they were at boarding school - and the school had a much larger influence on how they turned out than is often given credit - largely because a lot of people don't remember that the boys were at boarding school from the age of 8 and so seeing parents was 'holiday time' and not serious behaviour time.


Why do you say 'Diana would have encouraged him to go somewhere that wouldn't have been the RF first pick'? Do you think she would have tried to defy The Queen and the royal family - and expect to win??? The final decision would have come down to The Queen and Diana knew that - she would have been included in any discussions but certainly would have only been one voice and not that large a voice compared to his friends and father's family - the family after all from which he gains his position.

 

[cepe]

I've always thought that the tension between Diana and the Queen/Charles (to say BRF is misleading) gave William a lot of influence over his life at a young age. Both sides would have gone with what he wanted rather than argue with him (thus giving the other side the "supporting William" role).

If people think that William is doing things his way now, I think that's because it started when he was 19 and IMO only HMQ can pull him into line. But only when she chooses to.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I believe that if Diana were still alive he wouldn't have gone to St Andrews because his desire doe privacy wouldn't be as strong, it would still be there bit perhaps nor as much as doing a lot of hiding; first in Scotland then in Wales.

 

[cepe]

I believe that if Diana were still alive he wouldn't have gone to St Andrews because his desire doe privacy wouldn't be as strong, it would still be there bit perhaps nor as much as doing a lot of hiding; first in Scotland then in Wales.

I think if Diana had been alive his need for privacy would have been even stronger. He knew first hand that his mother was publicity prone. He didnt want anything to do with his mother taking on the BRF. He wanted to get on with life on his own.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Totally agree Cepe - he would have been even more paranoid about his privacy than he is now. St Andrews was the logical university due to his low grades - he was able to go to one of the oldest universities in the world and not a new up and comer but one with a heritage that goes back centuries and centuries and have his privacy which anyone attending university should be able to have. He had a greater chance of that in the UK where the British Royal Family could make a pact with the British media - something that couldn't happen in the US so he would have been hounded there in a way that he would never have been at St Andrews (and I doubt that The Queen would have consented to him going to a uni in the US anyway as it would have been seen as a slap in the face to the British and Commonwealth universities).

 

[Pranter]

Low grades? I always understood William had very respectable scores.



LaRae

 

[cepe]

Totally agree Cepe - he would have been even more paranoid about his privacy than he is now. St Andrews was the logical university due to his low grades - he was able to go to one of the oldest universities in the world and not a new up and comer but one with a heritage that goes back centuries and centuries and have his privacy which anyone attending university should be able to have. He had a greater chance of that in the UK where the British Royal Family could make a pact with the British media - something that couldn't happen in the US so he would have been hounded there in a way that he would never have been at St Andrews (and I doubt that The Queen would have consented to him going to a uni in the US anyway as it would have been seen as a slap in the face to the British and Commonwealth universities).

He didnt have "low grades" although I would say that his grades were not sufficient for Oxbridge (not the end of the world cos most people's aren't). His privacy was established by (a) the agreement between media and palace and (b) the remoteness of the University.

There is no way, IMO that a future heir to the throne would be educated overseas (1-3rd levels) or go to a military academy (seen posts re going to US military academy). The future Monarch will be Head of the Military - inappropriate to go to a foreign academy

The heir to the throne must be seen to be part of UK and Commonwealth education and military. No allegiance at all to the US way of doing either.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

He did. Some republicans must wear their bias on their sleeve at every turn

There have been a few remarks in here that William didn't have the grades to go to Oxford etc. so I also was confused. Did he get good grades or mediocre grades. We're the average but not good enough to go to the top schools Oxford/Cambridge?
I think Williams desire for privacy has a few causes 1) he didn't seem to like the press from Avery young age 2) his parents divorce 3) how the media treated his family and 4) Diana's dewth. I believe that of the last one hadn't happened his desire for privacy wouldn't be that bad. I know his mother goaded the press and William probably wouldn't have liked it; but the way she died and the fact that some of the photographers took pictures of her dying pushed it over the edge.

 

[cepe]

Williams grades are as follows: three A-levels (geography A, history of art A, biology C) William went on to get a degree in Geography.

These are not poor grades. However, to get into Oxford or Cambridge, A in required subjects are necessary.

 

[lucymae88]

There have been a few remarks in here that William didn't have the grades to go to Oxford etc. so I also was confused. Did he get good grades or mediocre grades. We're the average but not good enough to go to the top schools Oxford/Cambridge?
I think Williams desire for privacy has a few causes 1) he didn't seem to like the press from Avery young age 2) his parents divorce 3) how the media treated his family and 4) Diana's dewth. I believe that of the last one hadn't happened his desire for privacy wouldn't be that bad. I know his mother goaded the press and William probably wouldn't have liked it; but the way she died and the fact that some of the photographers took pictures of her dying pushed it over the edge.

William could have went to any college he wanted for the simple fact his Prince William. William could have got into Oxford, that's were the media thought he would go for awhile. William had pretty good grades at Eton. Harry didn't have the marks to get into Sandhurst, but he got in cause of who he is.

 

[Iluvbertie]

William's grade:


A in Geography
B in History of Art
C in Biology


Mediocre at best. Certainly better than his father and brother but still not outstanding or great or anything like that.


He had the grades for St Andrew's History of Art course - which was a BBC.


Harry by the way - a B for Art and D for Geography


Beatrice - A in Drama, Bs in History and Film Studies


Eugenie - As in Art and English Literature and B in History of Art


For comparison Charles - B in History and C in French (and strings had to be pulled to get him in to Cambridge as those grades were awful for entry to Cambridge)

 

[Rudolph]

Although St Andrews may not be Oxbridge, it is consistently one of the top universities in Britain. Article dated 11 May 2014

Celebrations as St Andrews is ranked top Scots university | Herald Scotland

 

[Mermaid1962]

Prince William had a bad attitude toward the press long before his mother died. I can understand why he felt that way, and it was likely amplified by his mother's death. I think that William would still have perhaps gone to a more remote university, but it was Diana's accident that led to the desire to protect her sons more from the press. There was a deal done that William and Harry would be sheltered until they came of age, during their education.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I believe that if Diana were still alive he wouldn't have gone to St Andrews because his desire doe privacy wouldn't be as strong, it would still be there bit perhaps nor as much as doing a lot of hiding; first in Scotland then in Wales.

If not St Andrew's then where?

He didn't have the grades for Oxford or Cambridge so they were out. St Andrew's is the next best in many ways, given its age, its location, its size, its reputation etc.

There is no way that he would have been allowed to go to a university outside Britain.

Aberystwyth - the university in Wales that Charles attended for a term in 1969 was probably the only other possibility.

I do think a lot of Americans assume that Diana would have wanted him to go to a college in the US but that ignores the fact that the British establishment would have never allowed him to do that - he is the future Head of State of the UK and probable Head of the Commonwealth so his education would have had to be in the UK.


To send him anywhere else would have been an insult to British universities and that wouldn't have been allowed to happen.


I do think that following his mother's death however, he became more determined to have a private life - but I do think he already was determined to have that as he has always been clearly uncomfortable in public even when with his mother as a small boy. He found her demands for media attention distressing and her death only reinforced that in his mind.

 

[Skippyboo]

William & Harry: Education

Wasn't there talk of William going to the University of Edinburgh? Peter and Zara went to Exeter. Eugenie went to Newcastle.

William isn't going to be replacing Stephen Hawking lecturing. If he went to the top school doesn't matter. His degree doesn't matter or what it's in. What did matter is that he found his future wife and mother of his children at St Andrews which is a good thing.


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