SCHOOL’S IN SESSION
Walking hand-in-hand with her mother Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte began her first day of school on Thursday, September 5. The 4-year-old royal is attending Thomas’s Battersea, a private school near the family’s Kensington Palace home that her brother Prince George has been going to for the past two years.
The princess wore her navy and red uniform but added a personal touch to her school backpack – a sparkly pink unicorn key chain.
In a video uploaded to the family’s Kensington Royal Instagram account, the Duchess of Cambridge is heard having a casual conversation with the head of the lower school, Helen Haslem, who also attended George’s first day. ‘’How are you? Did you have a nice summer?’’ Kate asked.
Shortly after, Haslem walked the family to the doors of the school and proud dad Prince William mentioned that Princess Charlotte was “very excited” about her first day.
Charlotte was previously enrolled in Willcocks Nursery school, before the palace announced in May that she would be joining her older brother, Prince George, at Thomas’s Battersea.
At the time, headmaster Simon O’Malley said, “We are delighted that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have decided that Princess Charlotte will join her elder brother, Prince George, at Thomas’s Battersea. We greatly look forward to welcoming her and all of our new pupils to the school in September.”
During school hours, the royal children are known as George and Charlotte Cambridge due to William and Kate’s titles as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
And it appears Princess Charlotte has fun times ahead of her. Her new school boasts a broad curriculum including art, ballet, drama, French, music and PE.
Thomas’s Battersea also prides itself on its core values, which include “kindness, courtesy, confidence, humility and learning to be givers, not takers”.
According to the school’s website, “We hope that our pupils will leave this school with a strong sense of social responsibility, set on a path to become net contributors to society and to flourish as conscientious and caring citizens of the world.”