A ‘smooth’ first day at school for George
DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE TELLS OF RELIEF
THE DUKE of Cambridge has said Prince George’s first day at school went smoothly after he was forced to manage parenting duties alone.
The Duchess of Cambridge had hoped to join William on the school run but is suffering from severe morning sickness and was too ill to attend, Kensington Palace said.
But William said the day “went well” and joked that he was pleased another parent had problems with their children rather than him.
He made the comments at a Kensington Palace reception for the England Under-20 football team – just hours after dropping his four-year-old son at Thomas’s Battersea, a fee-paying independent school in south London.
The Duke told head coach Paul Simpson it had been a “good day”. He said: “It went well. There was one other parent who had more of an issue with their children – so I was quite pleased I wasn’t the one.”
William added: “It was really nice, actually. It’s a nice school.”
The prince, who will known as George Cambridge to his classmates, was helped out of the car by William after being driven inside the school gates at around 8.45am. George, wearing a shirt, navy V-neck pullover, shorts and black shoes, looked tentative and clutched his father’s hand as he was led towards the entrance of the school.
The youngster shook hands with Helen Haslem, head of the lower school, as the Duke held a school bag packed ready for his first day.
Then, with William holding one hand and Ms Haslem the other, he walked inside. Ben Thomas, who is principal of Thomas’s London Day Schools and was headmaster of Thomas’s Battersea for 18 years, said he hoped future king George would learn to “be himself ”.
He said: “The whole aim of these precious early years of education is to give children that confidence in who they are.”