Both the British and the American public cannot get enough gossip about the British royal family, and now the school grades of some of the most prominent are showing up in the media.
For Americans reading this story, the term General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is Great Britain’s rough equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. British schoolchildren sit for a final exam before being awarded their GCSE, and finding out their grades is a considerable source of anxiety. “Diplomas” are awarded at different categories of achievement, with some equivalent to a U.S. student with honors or advanced placement (AP) classes.
This year at least one member of the royal family, James, Viscount Severn, will sit for his exams.
How did some of the most famous do in the past?
Prince Charles (now King Charles)
Then-Prince Charles attended the Gordonstoun school in Scotland, a time he described as a “prison sentence.” The boarding school was founded in 1934 by Kurt Hahn, a Jew who escaped Nazi Germany. The late Prince Philip, husband/consort to the late Queen Elizabeth II, was one of the school’s first students.
Charles hated his time there. In a letter he sent to his parents, he complained that he couldn’t sleep because his schoolmates kept hitting him on the head because of his loud snoring. He called it “absolute hell.”
Eventually Charles graduated with what were then called “O Levels,” meaning he left with a standard diploma that was adequate but not distinguished.
Camilla Parker Bowles
Camilla, Queen consort to King Charles, attended the Queen’s Gate School in Kensington starting at age 10. She graduated too with an O Level, and did not achieve any particularly remarkable scores.
Diana Spencer
Princess Diane once said of herself that she was “thick as a plank,” and she also did not achieve stellar graduation scores. She was recognized, however, for some musical and artistic talents, including excelling at the piano.
Her former family home is now on the market.