Charlotte Begins Nursery School

 Princess Charlotte of Cambridge has started at Willcocks Nursery School close to home in Kensington.  

Kensington Palace released two photos of Charlotte to mark the occasion. Charlotte's mum Catherine took the pics.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge escorted their 2 1/2 year old daughter on her first day and helped her settle in to her morning class routine. 

Willcocks has a strong emphasis on numeracy, early reading, poetry, art, crafts and music. The classes are structured but allow plenty of time for free play. 
   
Charlotte's older brother George attended Westacre Montessori School in Norfolk as the family was based at Amner Hall at the time. George started "big school" at Thomas's Battersea last September.

 Kensington Palace has released a 2017 highlights video:

For our final highlights video, let's take a look back at some of the key family moments this year. pic.twitter.com/gwVftwrcso

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 31, 2017

 

Busy Year Ahead For The Cambridges

It is shaping up to be a busy 2017 for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

In our last blog post we canvassed possible choices of London nursery schools for Charlotte. There were suggestions the family would be moving to their Kensington Palace apartment this year for Prince George to begin school. This has since been confirmed in an announcement from William and Catherine.

Prince William's helicopter pilot role with East Anglia Air Ambulance will come to an end in the summer. This position was perfect for William to transition from his RAF Search and Rescue role before assuming full time duties on behalf of The Queen.

Flying for EAAA meant that the Duke could work and live in Norfolk at the couple's home Anmer Hall. The family were able to enjoy a more relaxed, private life away from London but commute to the capital when royal duties demanded. Anmer will continue to be their home but Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace will become their weekday residence. 

It has become apparent that the younger generation of royals will need to step up to more full time roles in the near future. Whilst Her Majesty and Prince Philip carry out more engagements than William, Catherine and Harry combined, they are ageing and need to reduce their workload. 

Kensington Palace Hedge Planting For Privacy

The Queen's illness at Christmas saw her miss several church services over the festive period. This was a wake up call for many who have only ever known Queen Elizabeth as the nation's Monarch and saw her as immortal. 

Prince George is rumoured to be starting school at Wetherby but not at the Notting Hill campus where Princes William and Harry attended! A new, smaller Wetherby Kensington is opening in September in time for George to start his formal schooling. 

Wetherby Kensington is located at 4 Wetherby Gardens near Gloucester Road, not far from Kensington Palace. It is a more discreet building than the original Wetherby and will cater for Reception through to Year 3. From there, boys will have an automatic place at the original Wetherby School in Notting Hill. The school will open with just the first two Reception Classes and grow as the years progress. 

With fewer pupils and parents it might be perfectly low key for the Cambridges. 

So a move to London to enable Catherine and William to undertake more official duties and starting school and nursery for the children means a momentous year ahead.

Site Of Wetherby Kensington

Which Nursery School For Charlotte?

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is only 19 months old but sometime in the next year she will most likely start at a local nursery school. 

An increase in royal engagements for her parents and possible retirement from his role as helicopter pilot will dovetail with Prince George starting school later this year. 

This will most likely mean the Cambridges relocate to Kensington Palace as the main family home in the coming months.

George January 2016

Last January, George started at Westacre Montessori school near the family's Norfolk country home, Amner Hall. He was almost 2 1/2 at the time. The prince attends the school a few mornings a week and is expected to move onto a Pre-Prep school later this year.

The Queen and Prince Philip are ageing and whilst they currently fulfil more official engagements than Prince William, Catherine and Prince Harry combined, are slowly handing over more patronages and duties such as investitures to the their children and grandchildren.

Prince William's contract as part time helicopter pilot for East Anglia Air Ambulance will soon be up for renewal. The time for William and Catherine to become more active members of the royal family may now be here.

Given all of this, which London nursery schools are options for little Charlotte?

Proximity to Kensington Palace is important as is the Montessori philosophy. For these reasons, Princes William and Harry started school life at Mrs Mynors in Pembridge Square, Notting Hill. It has since been bought by Alpha Plus and re-badged The Minors Nursery School.

http://minorsnurseryschool.co.uk/

Ladbroke Square Montessori School in Notting Hill has to be high on the list for Charlotte. Like The Minors, it is very near to Wetherby and just around the corner from Kensington Palace. Intakes are in September, January and April for this school, established in the 1940s.

http://www.ladbrokesquarenursery.com/index.php

Miss Delaney's in W11 is very highly regarded and has Montessori in it's philosphy. It has a secure garden playground on-site so for security purposes this has to be a plus.

http://missdelaneys.co.uk/

The Acorn in Notting Hill has no website. However it is so highly regarded that applications for a place on the wait list are recommended shortly after the birth!

The Square is similarly located to the other contenders. It has small sessions of 18 children and adheres to the Montessori way of learning.

http://www.thesquareschool.com

Last but not least is Young England Kindergarten in Pimlico where William and Harry's mother Diana, Princess of Wales was an assistant before her engagement to Prince Charles. Montessori based, "Miss Diana" was a favourite with the children. One of Lady Diana's students, Clementine Hambro ( descendant of Winston Churchill) became a flower girl at the Royal Wedding! 

http://youngenglandkindergarten.co.uk/

You can also read my earlier blog post about Montessori Nursery Schools for the royal children here:

http://williamandharryschildren.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/mrs-mynors-nursery-school.html

William 1985

Harry 1987

Lady Diana 1980

George To Start At Nursery School

Prince George will start his schooling in late January at Westacre Montessori School in East Walton, Norfolk.

The little prince who will be two and a half at the time is expected to start off attending several mornings a week. The Nursery is in a converted church building and is close to the Cambridges home, Anmer Hall. 

Westacre charges GBP 33- per day and is further evidence that Catherine and William intend to give George and his sister Charlotte a relaxed country upbringing for as long as possible.

The Montessori system is very familiar to Prince William as he himself attended a Montessori nursery school from the age of three. Mrs Mynors Nursery School was only a short drive from Kensington Palace and William's brother Harry followed him there a couple of years later. 

I discussed William's nursery education in a blog eleven months ago.  
Here is a quick link:

http://williamandharryschildren.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/mrs-mynors-nursery-school.html

The princes' mother Diana, Princess of Wales was a teaching assistant at the Young England Kindergarten in Pimlico when she started dating Prince Charles in 1980. This was also a Montessori school.

William's First Day at Mrs Mynors