Heartbreaking reason Prince William and Harry attended Eton when they were young

14 February 2024 , 23:00

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Both William and Harry attended Eton growing up (Image: Getty Images)

There may have been a heartbreaking reason why Prince William and Harry were sent to Eton as young boys.

It’s one of the most well-known, and expensive, private schools in the country and Eton College has also seen a disproportionate amount of prime ministers pass through its doors. Describing itself as a "modern forward thinking school" it also saw to the education of the future king and Duke of Sussex.

But they may have only attended for a heartbreaking reason. Their father, King Charles, attended Gordonstoun as a youngster himself. The Scottish boarding school saw Charles follow in his own father’s footsteps, Prince Phillip, in attending. But whilst Phillip loved the school, Charles seemingly didn’t quite.

Charles was allegedly mercilessly bullied there and said learning there was like a "prison sentence". Whilst the school has changed hugely since Charles attended, it could be one reason Charles favoured sending his own kids to Eton instead.

Phillip sent Charles up to Scotland, arguing that Eton had been too close to Windsor and London so he’d have more privacy up north.

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Season Two of the Netflix programme The Crown explores Charles's time at the school and the TV series depicts him being isolated from the rest of the boys there with one asking him "do you think you're better than us?" before pushing him into a river.

Charles, Diana, Harry and William at Eton on the older brother's first day at the school (PA)

The Prince's homesickness was also revealed in published letters. In 1964 a young Prince Charles wrote: "It's such hell here especially at night. I don't get any sleep practically at all nowadays … The people in my dormitory are foul. Goodness, they are horrid, I don't know how anyone could be so foul."

It comes as the Royal Family is suffering through a number of health shocks at the moment that has seen both Charles and Kate, the Princess of Wales, sidelined, BerkshireLive reported.

Last month, on the same day it was announced that King Charles would undergo a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate and that Kate had already undergone successful abdominal surgery. But doctors later diagnosed the king with cancer, and he has since undergone treatment.

Prince Harry dropped everything and cleared his schedule, racing back to the UK for a whirlwind 25-hour trip to briefly meet with Charles.

Kieren Williams