From palace to boarding school!
Princess Alexia successfully completed her exams at the United World College in Wales last year, and Princess Ariane is currently studying hard at the United World College in Duino, Italy. Moreover, they are not the only royals who completed their high school years away from the court. Why is that anyway?
A few years ago, the RVD announced that Princess Alexia, like King Willem-Alexander, would complete her secondary education at an international boarding school in the southern tip of Wales. The international baccalaureate she obtained there replaces the last two years of pre-university education.
Princess Leonor of Spain, the eldest daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia, also left for Great Britain to continue her secondary education. Just before obtaining her diploma, she shared that the exam period was quite tough.
Young sisters
Yet this warning has clearly not stopped other young royal ladies from also heading to the United World College. After Leonor, her sister, Infanta Sofía, also left for Wales last year.
The Spanish court shared a set of sweet photos of this at the time:
La Infanta Sofía viaja hacia el Reino Unido para comenzar el curso escolar en el @UWCAtlantic College de Gales. pic.twitter.com/FcEP4rK6p9
— Casa de SM el Rey (@CasaReal) August 29, 2023
However, our Princess Ariane has made a slightly different choice: instead of an imposing Welsh castle, she has left for a picturesque Italian village on the Golfo di Trieste, where her boarding school offers a beautiful view of the sea.
Anonymous royals
But why do all those princesses go to a boarding school across the border? Isn’t it much nicer to come home to the palace? Royal family expert Kysia Hekster shared just before Princess Alexia’s departure: “Officially no reason has been given, but anonymity plays a major role. All eyes are on her here because she is the king’s daughter. When she goes to school in Wales, she will be less noticeable. She becomes less noticeable there. And I can imagine that it is sometimes quite nice when no one is paying attention to you.” So logical!
It also helps that students from royal circles are nothing new at the UWC. For example, Willem-Alexander, Alexia, and Leonor, and the Belgian Crown Princess Elisabeth, obtained their diplomas here. People are not surprised by a royal title, more or less. Moreover, for our princesses, the media code is also in force on the other side of the North Sea, so they cannot simply be approached by the press in Wales or Italy.
To enjoy
In any case, it did (then Prince) Willem-Alexander good when he was able to escape all the media attention at the same school in the 1980s. “He certainly enjoyed his time here,” recalled former classmate Adrian Disney in an interview with the BBC. “It was probably the first time in his life that he could go out and enjoy it without being recognized.”
Source: Royal House, RTL News | Image: BrunoPress
