Why Princess Anne wasn’t allowed to attend top royal school – but she sent her children there
Princess Anne attended a different school than her brothers, King Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and there was a particular reason for it. Princess Anne was not allowed to attend a prestigious school where all three of her brothers, King Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, as well as her father, the late Prince Phillip, and her children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, were able to go to.
Three generations of royals have attended Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland. The school was first attended by Prince Philip followed by King Charles in 1962. The monarch stayed there for five years and resided in the Windmill Lodge, which is now a boarding house for female pupils, however, he reportedly did not enjoy the regime, which he later characterised as “Colditz in kilts”.
He later praised the school, stating it had taught him “a great deal about myself and my own abilities and disabilities”. He said in a 1975 interview he was “glad” he had attended Gordonstoun and that the “toughness of the place” was “much exaggerated”. The King said: “Gordonstoun developed my willpower and self-control and helped me discipline myself, but I think that discipline, not in the sense of making your bath in cold water, but in giving shape and form and tidiness to your life.”
His brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward later attended Gordonstoun themselves, however as at the time it was a boys’ school, Princess Anne could not attend. The prestigious Scottish school became co-educational in 1972. The Princess Royal was first looked after by governess Catherine Peebles for her early education at Buckingham Palace but later attended the Benenden School in Kent between 1963 and 1968, leaving with six O-Levels and two A-Levels.
The year after, Anne would start undertaking royal engagements at the age of 18. But unlike Charles, who sent Prince William and Prince Harry to Eton College, Princess Anne decided to follow Prince Phillip’s footsteps and sent both her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall to the Scottish school.
Zara and Peter have both spoken about the positive experiences they shared there. Last week, the Princess Royal paid a visit to Gordonstoun where she officially opened what is said to be one of the greenest classroom buildings in the UK and paid tribute to her late mother, Queen Elizabeth.
