On Thursday, thousands of students across the UK will learn their A-Level results, including Lady Louise Windsor, the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex who just finished her A-Levels.
We’re looking back at the credentials the royal family was able to obtain during their education in honor of the occasion, and some of them are quite surprising!
The Queen has never taken an academic exam in her life, despite having received private lessons from vice provost of Eton, Henry Marten, before receiving her education at home. The late Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen, however, ensured that their children received the best education possible outside of Buckingham Palace.
Gordonstoun student Prince Charles earned five GCSEs (O-Levels at the time), two A-Levels in history (B), and French (C). Later, he received a 2:2 history degree from Cambridge University. Princess Anne, his sister, attended Benenden School in Kent and earned three A-Levels in English, History, and Politics in addition to six o-levels.
Prince Andrew and Prince Edward attended Gordonstoun School in Scotland, where they studied alongside their older brother and father. Andrew earned six O-levels, and Edward earned nine. They both earned three A-Levels in English, History, and Politics, and Edward also graduated from Cambridge University with a 2:2 in History.
Prince William and Prince Harry, two of the Queen’s grandsons, defied family tradition by enrolling at Windsor’s Eton School. The Duke of Cambridge completed 12 GCSEs and three A-Levels in biology, history of art, and geography, all with As (C).
Prince Charles said at the time, according to The Guardian, “I know how hard William worked to achieve these excellent results and I am very proud that he has done so well.” William later earned a 2:1 degree in geography from the Scottish University of St. Andrews.
Harry, meanwhile, earned two A-Levels—a B in art and a D in geography—and 11 GCSEs. The British royal spent a year traveling after graduating from Eton in 2003 before enlisting in the military.
Before enrolling in classes at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she earned two As in math and art and a B in English, the Duchess of Cambridge earned 11 GCSEs at St. Andrew’s School in Pangbourne. Kate attended the University of St. Andrews in 2001 after taking a gap year, where she met her future husband. She earned a 2:1 in art history at graduation in 2005.
Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, attended Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles before graduating from Northwestern University. The Duchess of Sussex received grades for university, where she earned a double major in theater and international relations, even though there are no reports of her SATs, the American equivalent of GCSEs or A-Levels.
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, daughters of the Duke of York, did well on their A-Level exams. 2007 saw Beatrice graduate from St. George’s School in Ascot with an A in drama and Bs in both history and film studies. She continued her education by majoring in history at London’s Goldsmiths College, where she received a 2:1 degree in 2011.
Eugenie, her younger sister, graduated from Marlborough College in 2008 with a B in art history and As in art and English literature. She took a gap year before continuing her education at Newcastle University, where she earned a 2:1 in English Literature and Art History in 2012.
