Princess starts at nursery in style

BRITAIN: Princess Charlotte embarked on the beginning of her school life with her first day at nursery school as her mother took the official pictures.

The Duchess of Cambridge, who turns 36 today, is a keen amateur photographer and snapped her 2-year-old daughter on the steps of Kensington Palace before she set off for her first day at Willcocks Nursery School.

The princess wore a red coat paired with a pink scarf, a red hair ribbon and red shoes. Her rucksack bore images of ponies, a nod perhaps to her great-grandmother the Queen’s love of horses.

Willcocks Nursery is based in a church near the Royal Albert Hall. A parent is invited to ‘‘stay and play’’ for the first few sessions.

The nursery school is designed to help children into the first stages of learning – reading, writing and understanding numbers. It follows the Early Years Foundation Stage, a curriculum set by the British government for children up to the age of 5. It is run solely by female staff and owned by the headmistress, Lavinia Taylor. Rated outstanding by education regulator Ofsted, it charges £3050 (NZ$5760) a term.

Charlotte’s brother Prince George, 4, attended Westacre Montessori School near the Cambridges’ home in Norfolk.

Charlotte appeared to be in better spirits than her father did on his first day at nursery school in 1985. Her mother attended an English-language nursery in Amman, Jordan, where her father worked for British Airways.