Princess Diana was 'in tears' when Princes Charles sent William away

Princess Diana holding Prince William — (Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Prince Charles once had Princess Diana “in tears” after deciding to follow a key royal tradition with their eldest son Prince William, it has been claimed.

• Prince Charles' decision to send his eldest son Prince William to boarding school reportedly had Princess Diana "in tears".

• She had been reluctant to send him away, though it had become a royal tradition.

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The Prince of Wales decided his eldest son Prince William should attend boarding school. This is not an uncommon occurrence for the Royal Family. Both Prince Charles and his father Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attended boarding schools. However, with Prince William just 8 years old at the time, it was seemingly a heart-wrenching experience for his mother. The late Princess of Wales was allegedly “in tears” when dropping him off.

The List’s Christine-Marie Liwag Dixon has discussed Prince Charles' decision for his son to follow in his family's footsteps. She noted that Princess Diana had been "reluctant to send him away” whilst Prince Charles “wanted to continue the family tradition of sending children to boarding school”.

Which boarding school did Prince William attend and did he like it?

In a piece for The List, Ms Liwag Dixon revealed that the boarding school experience was “reportedly a difficult one for him at the beginning”. She stated that "Princess Diana is said to have been in tears when she dropped him off".

Meanwhile, the young prince was "reportedly quite lonely” after first going away to school.

However, it's been suggested that after the challenges of the early boarding school days, Prince William “adjusted to his new life at school”.

Ms Liwag Dixon went on to add that, “Prince William eventually grew accustomed to being away from home”, although “it'd seem he still missed his family as evidenced by the fact that his mother regularly wrote to him”.

It has been claimed by some that when writing to her young son, the late Princess Diana addressed her letters to "My Darling Wombat".

What school did Prince William go to after Ludgrove?

After reaching the age of 13, Prince William then attended Eton College. This marked a change to royal tradition as Prince Philip and his sons, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward all attended Gordonstoun in Scotland.

The Duke of Cambridge’s younger brother Prince Harry then went to Eton College.

Prince William later went on to attend the University of St Andrews. It was here that he met his future wife Kate Middleton, now Duchess Catherine of Cambridge.

The couple married in May 2011 and have gone on to have three children Prince George (7), Princess Charlotte (6) and Prince Louis (3). Their eldest children both attend Thomas’s Battersea.

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We will have to wait and see if Prince Louis follows in his elder siblings’ footsteps and whether they'll all follow their father in attending boarding school too!

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Emma is a Royal Editor with nine years of experience in publishing. She specialises in writing about the British Royal Family, covering everything from protocol to outfits. Alongside putting her extensive royal knowledge to good use, Emma knows all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV and more. When she’s not writing about the latest royal outing or unmissable show to add to your to-watch list, Emma enjoys cooking, long walks and watching yet more crime dramas!