With Prince George starting school this month, we’ve hunted back through our archive and revisited some of his father’s school-day milestones. In 1985, we covered Prince William’s first day of nursery school, a milestone moment for the royal family, who had previously educated their children privately.
However, at the insistence of Princess Diana, William became the first royal to attend a public kindergarten. The Weekly offered an account of the day.
His first day at school held no terrors for Prince William. He couldn’t wait to get started.
And at the end of class there was a present for Princess Diana. Little Prince William’s first day at school couldn’t have gone better.
There were no tears, no tantrums, no clinging to Mummy’s skirt – just a quick pause to wave to the cameras before marching down some steps into an empire of cygnets, little swans and big swans. William himself proudly took the title of Cygnet.
Never before has a child so close to the British throne been sent to a private nursery school. It is clear that it was Princess Diana who broke tradition and made this crucial choice as to where her son’s schooling should begin.
There had been much speculation about the establishment to be chosen and, understandably, Mrs Jane Mynors, who runs the $350-a-term nursery school in Chepstow, Villas, Notting Hill Gate, is “surprised and delighted” that hers was the final choice.
Neighbours had not been so surprised. They had guessed it would be this one when they noticed plain-clothed police checking adjoining rooftops a couple of weeks before.
There are eight teachers at Chepstow Villas and three classes of 12. The new boy from Kensington Palace is five minutes’ drive away.
Both Charles and Diana accompanied William. Despite her own experience as nursery school helper before her marriage, Princess Diana was clearly nervous as she bade farewell to her eldest son.
“Please take good care of him,” she whispered to Mrs Mynors.
Young Wills, however, was bursting with eagerness. He practically deserted his parents as they shook hands with Mrs Mynors and had eyes only for the narrow steps leading down to the classroom where “William” was already written beside his apron peg.
The assembled world press tried to catch the little prince’s attention. “William, William,” they shouted as he steadily made his way to those steps. It was obvious there were more important things on his mind.
Charles and Diana laughingly followed. They stayed only long enough to see their son settled and to hand over a Postman Pat vacuum flask filled with orange juice.
Then they were off, leaving Wills in a new world where time is spent cutting out, model making, painting and, weather permitting, play in a leafy garden with a log cabin and a slide.
The heir to the throne was introduced to his classmates as just “William” and is to be treated as one of the boys by his little chums. But while the prince is in class, the door to the street is locked by a police minder who will accompany Wills every day of his school life.
Ninety minutes later, William emerged. In one hand, he proudly clutched a present for Mama, painstakingly toiled over in his paper-cutting class – a little paper mouse!
