On Monday, Kensington Palace announced that the children of royals Kate Middleton and Prince William-Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4-will be attending Lambrook School come September, according to the Independent. The announcement also confirmed that the family will be moving to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor's Home Park to accommodate the new school arrangements. A palace spokesperson relayed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge "wanted to be able to give George, Charlotte and Louis, a bit more freedom than they have living in central London. It's very much a decision that's been led by the kids."
If freedom, as opposed to the "fishbowl" of Central London, is what the kids are looking for, then they'll certainly find it at Lambrook's vast open grounds. Set on fifty-two acres of lush country land, Lambrook is one of the U.K's leading prep schools. Known for providing a well-rounded education to students from ages three to 13, the boarding school does not skimp on outdoor activities. Taking full advantage of its setting, the campus houses a full-on farm, complete with pigs, chickens, rabbits, lamb, and bees (yes, beekeeping is on the list of extraordinary extracurricular activities at the school.)
In addition to farming activities, the grounds boast a nine-hole golf course and an orchard where children go apple picking and cultivate their own fruits and vegetables. Polo, scuba diving, cricket and even a "mini Masterchef" class (no doubt a place where the children get to cook the food they grow) are also part of activities outside of academics. The Cambridge children should fit right in at their new school, as they're known as "such an outdoorsy family," as reported by People. An anonymous source told the outlet that "the countryside is definitely their happy place."
Established in 1860 as an institution for educating the sons of courtiers of Windsor Castle (which is only a short drive from the grounds), this isn't the first time that the now fully co-ed school will be educating children of royal lineage. Back in the 1870s, Queen Victoria would pay frequent visits to the school to watch her grandsons, Prince Christian Victor and Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, in plays and cricket matches, according to the school's website.
In addition to its impressive after-school programming and exceptional academics (Lambrook is a known feeder to upper schools like prestigious Eton and Marlborough-attended by Prince William the Duchess of Cambridge respectively), the school takes pride in emphasizing a "priority on attitude towards others", in their curriculum, teaching children "the fundamental values of courtesy, kindness and empathy," an ethos which was probably attractive to both Kate and William, as they are noted humanitarians.
Although most children attending the school are boarders, the Cambridges will be day students.