Kate Middleton was bullied at school. This is how it's influenced her parenting style.

Since bringing their kids into the world, the Prince and Princess of Wales have tried their best to give George, nine, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, a normal upbringing – despite the fact their pop is, you know, the King.

But there’s another reason behind the royal couple’s decision to break with tradition and send their children to a pretty normal school. 

Kate (then) Middleton was bullied as a kid.

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“Catherine [as she’s known in a society we deff don’t belong to] had a very unhappy time at Downe House in her first two terms and was bullied quite badly,” royal expert Jennie Bond told OK!.

And there were apparently three reasons.

According to another royal expert, Katie Nicholl, it was because the future princess started at the school at age 13, instead of 11, like everyone else. She was also a day student, rather than a boarder, and was “especially slender and a head taller than her peers”. 

The bullying got so bad that Kate left and enrolled at Marlborough College instead. 

So, when it came to choosing her own children’s education, the now 41-year-old was determined to protect them.

“The Prince and Princess of Wales have made it clear that their young family will, as far as possible, come first and that includes sending all three to a day school rather than having them as boarders away from home,” Bond explained.

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“[The bullying Kate was subjected to] has completely influenced the way she wants her children to be educated, coupled with her belief and research into early years development."

In 2022, the young royals decided to uproot their London life at Kensington Palace and move to the country. And by country we mean Adelaide Cottage, built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV.

There, Kate and Wills enrolled the kids at Lambrook School, which is where they’ve been since last September.

“It is telling that Kate was heavily involved in searching for George, Charlotte and Lous’ school as two of the key aspirations of Lambrook are kindness and inclusivity.” 

At the time, the royal couple said they’d made the move to “give their children the ‘most normal’ start possible". And while Lambrook isn’t a super-fancy pants school, Queen Victoria’s two grandsons did go there, too.

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Set across 52 acres of grounds, the private school has a 25-metre swimming pool, tennis courts and a performing arts studio, as well as an orchard and nine-hole golf course. As you do. 

And when it comes to fees, well, they increase with age, so the annual bill will be $24,500 for Prince Louis, $36,000 for Princess Charlotte and $39,160 for George.

While William and Harry were sent to boarding school at 13 – and pictures of them dressed up in their Eton College uniforms went viral (or whatever you called it in the '90s) – there’s been no word on whether Prince George, third in line to the throne, will follow the same path.

“For the moment, at least, it seems William and Catherine want to keep their children close, as day pupils at Lambrook, in a happy and nurturing environment,” said Bond.

Image: Getty + Mamamia.

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