We got the confirmation late last week: the Princess of Wales absolutely will not join her husband in Singapore in November for the Earthshot Awards. Kate had been scheduled to go to Singapore for months, then *someone* in Kensington Palace began to soft-launch “Kate’s mothering priorities are so major, she would never abandon her children to a fleet of nannies for a few days!” Very few people in the British media were buying it, which is why Kensington Palace added a new detail to further explain Kate’s absence: she needs to be around to support George as he takes some kind of exam. Even fewer people are buying that explanation, so it was interesting to watch as the Telegraph’s coverage tried to dig deeper into what kind of test was so important for a 10-year-old.
The Princess of Wales will not join Prince William in Singapore for the Earthshot Prize awards as Prince George has school exams that week. For the first time since launching the environmental award, the Prince will fly solo when he heads to Asia in early November.
A Kensington Palace source confirmed that the Princess wanted to remain at home to support their elder son. Prince George, 10, is currently in year six at Lambrook prep school in Berkshire but was recently spotted looking around Eton College with his family ahead of a potential move there.
All applicants for year nine sit an online pre-test in the autumn term of year six, either at their current school or at an agreed centre. At the same time, Eton also requests a head teacher’s report covering a boy’s academic strengths, interests and character.
A selection of boys are then chosen to go forward to the second stage, an assessment later in the academic year before successful candidates are offered a conditional place, pending an entrance exam sat in year eight. Similar tests are held at around the same time for applicants to Marlborough College in Wiltshire, the Princess’s alma mater.
Because I know very little about the British educational system, much less all of these crazy boarding schools, this was very confusing to me. From what I gather, George is preparing to eventually go to Eton, so he’s, like, on “the Eton track.” Which means a certain set of tests taken at certain points in the boys’ pre-Eton schooling. Like, SATs but for posh boarding schools. It’s possible that George really is taking some important “pre-test” around the same time as the Singapore trip. But it’s also true that if William actually wanted Kate in Singapore, she would be going. He doesn’t want her there, he doesn’t want her trying to grab his ass and gawping at everyone. One more thing about George’s pre-test… why wasn’t that cited months ago? Why does it feel like an excuse pulled out of the air at the last minute?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Watched by his mother Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, and father Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain’s Prince George of Wales tries his hand at archery while taking part in the Big Help Out, during a visit to the 3rd Upton Scouts Hut in Slough, west of London on May 8, 2023, where the family joined volunteers helping to renovate and improve the building. – People across Britain were on Monday asked to do their duty as the celebrations for King Charles III’s coronation drew to a close with a massive volunteering drive.,Image: 774584579, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon
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- FAIRFORD, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales with Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales during their visit to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford on July 14, 2023 in Fairford, England. The Prince and Princess of Wales have a strong relationship with the RAF, with the Prince having served with the Search and Rescue Force for over three years, based at RAF Valley in Anglesey. The Prince is Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby and The Princess is Honorary Air Commodore of the Air Cadets.,Image: 789121459, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte arrive on day fourteen of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only – no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos.,Image: 789477112, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only – no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos., *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Victoria Jones / Avalon
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- Prince George in the royal box during the mens’ finals on Day 14 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, UK, 16 July 2023,Image: 789502080, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
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- Princess Charlotte and Prince George during the mens’ finals on Day 14 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, UK, 16 July 2023,Image: 789502286, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
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- Tennis : Wimbledon 2023 – Angleterre – Finale simple Messieurs- Victoire de Carlos Alcaraz Espagne contre Novak Djokovic Serbie – Royal Box – Prince William, Prince George et Preincesse Charlotte regardent la remise de prix faite par la Princesse de Galles,Image: 789705568, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Traveling along The Mall in a carriage at Trooping The Colour. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III leads members of The Royal Family on his first Trooping the Colour, the monarch’s official birthday parade Featuring: Prince William of Wales Catherine Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The Prince of Wales and Prince George watch from the box during day four of the second Ashes test match at Lord’s. Featuring: Prince William, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 01 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William, Catherine Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George attend day fourteen of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Featuring: Prince William, Catherine Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 16 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William, Catherine Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George attend day fourteen of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Featuring: Princess Charlotte, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 16 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
“why wasn’t that cited months ago? Why does it feel like an excuse pulled out of the air at the last minute?”
Because George’s parents don’t live together and don’t like each other so the mother stays home so the father doesn’t throw pillows at her. Horrible situation.
Are you saying that Will and Kate will remained married and be miserable for decades to come? This is why I loved Diana. She decided that sacrificing her happiness to be queen of England was not worth it.
Diana didn’t call for the divorce, she didn’t want the divorce. Diana wanted to stay married to Charles, wanted to be Queen, but she wanted Camilla and all other sidepieces gone. QEII ordered the two of them to divorce because them briefing against each other in the press was out of control.
Wow @notasugarhere……you can always be depended on to throw shade at Princess Diana. Always.
Anyhooooo, FYI even while she was still married to chuckyDaF*kingPOS-TURD, Diana didnt expect to become queen of the UK.
In the 1995 Panorama interview, a full year before the divorce, she actually said she doesnt expect to become queen of the UK but rather, she wanted to be the queen of people’s hearts.
So, like @Lolo86lf said,” [Diana] decided that sacrificing her happiness to be queen of England was not worth it.”
Unlike the amoeboid creature currently occupying the post of Princess of Wales, Diana wasnt about that life of self-abegnation in pursuit of a crown.
If Diana or Charles didn’t want the divorce, there would have been none, that’s my opinion at least. There has to have been one of the two parties to file for divorce. If it was Diana that filed, then it was her that wanted the divorce. If Charles filed, then it was him (and his mother that is) that wanted the divorce. There was no way the queen would have forced Diana to file for divorce if she hadn’t wanted to, nobody can convince me otherwise. I know Charles folks have been trying for decades, up to this day they’re still trying, to paint Diana in tons of negative lights, how she was the master manipulator, how she manipulated the situation and threw herself at this much older man, how poor innocent Charles was the victim of this conniving 17 year old girl that stalked and cornered him and manipulated him into marrying her blah blah blah, I don’t buy any of that. Diana was the victim of this entire machine, every one of them, except Harry and his wife Meghan and children, are vile creatures. Back to my bottom line, queen had absolutely no power over Diana, at that time a 34 year old woman who had been abused for years by these vile people. Diana cared less about any member of that horrible family except for her children, so there’s no way I can be convinced that she wanted to remain married to that vile and hideous man Charles.
@notasugarhere, that is my memory also. Diana wanted a separation. But after they both gave tv interviews the queen announced a divorce. I assumed by that point the queen announced divorce that Diana was ready to go.
@Nota: As I recall Diana wanted a divorce but it was uncharted territory for a Prince and Princess of Wales to divorce. QEII needed to agree to it and she didn’t want to; she was hoping that Diana would accept Charles’ infidelities, as all other princesses had done prior. Diana was not having it. She had affairs —- in retaliation or for love, who knows—and those affairs were not discreet. Neither was Charles’ by the way. The couple briefed the press to protect their image and get at each other. QEII finally saw that it had to be done, hence she gave her support for the divorce. So no, the queen did not instigate the divorce.
@Kingston – What notasugarhere has stated regarding Diana NOT wanting a divorce is 100% true.
notasugarhere is NOT throwing shade but is telling the truth.
Diana did NOT want a divorce.
from “The Interview” “On the subject of divorce, interviewer Martin Bashir asks her, “Would it be your wish to divorce?” Diana responds, “No, it’s not my wish.”
She didn’t want to divorce him, she was public about it. From History extra: “Queen Elizabeth did write a letter to her daughter-in-law. “I have consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury and with the prime minister,” she wrote, as said in The Royal Observer. “And, of course, with Charles, and we have decided that the best course for you is divorce.”
I believe Diana loved him. I think that was the sum of it.
I think it sounds like a last-minute excuse because it is a last-minute excuse. Notice how they also threw in the Marlborough pre-exams, ’cause they don’t really know he’s going to Eton (although yes, they were photographed visiting). They’re just throwing mud at the walls to see what sticks.
Also, isn’t this William’s event? Presumably they would have picked a time and place that worked for Kate if they wanted her along.
These exams are SO important, because ETON might say no to the purported future king of England! Do you have any bridges to sell?
I’m as sure that George will be passed on all his tests as I am that Willnot & Kannot were certain to get their degrees from St Andrews, no matter how little they actually did to earn them. Who was going to flunk Willy or his piece? Likewise, no matter how he really does, #PoorGeorge will be passed upwards.
Years ago there were people in the comments for old school Jezebel where former students at StAndrews confirmed that kate was known to simply copy off her classmates during tests. On one occasion someone supposedly put in false answers for her to see before correcting them. For by one caught cheating like that the would be expelled, but Kate made sure everyone knew who she was dating.
@Antipodean and @Roooth, that’s exactly what I came here to say. I don’t think there’s any doubt that George will be accepted to Eton, regardless of any formal exams he has to sit for. Marlborough is just thrown into the rota-spin narrative for optics. Even if his mother’s alma mater is a better fit, George is going to be sent to Eton, as the future heir to a now diminished British monarchy.
Everyone is on board with this not going to Singapore thing, even Kate. She knows which side her bread is buttered, which is why she’s now helping the spin. The joint appearance with Tim Cook was also to show how united they are amidst chatter that “no Kate in Singapore” means trouble. Her eye is on the prize, even if it means helping her husband come up with “valid,” last-minute excuses for why she can’t go.
There is NO way on Gods green earth that Eton, a fixture of institutional Britain, is saying no to the future King of England! That place exist for the aristocracy. This is a joke!
I think the press knew this all along. I think there’s a practice of strategically releasing details so those so-called reporters can stretch a simple story for weeks at a time. Each new detail they release gives them more content.
Are we supposed to believe that whatever school George goes to he won’t just get in no matter what. Who is going to say no to the Heir to the throne.
If I were George I would be seriously embarrassed that my mother was telling everyone that she was refusing to perform public duties because I needed her to hold my hand during a test.
Yes, I agree. The application process for Eton begins at age 10, when prospective students take an online test before taking an in-person test and being interviewed at Eton. Be sure George as future King will not be turned down and anyway W&K employ 60 staff and Carole Middleton is supposed to be involved a lot though I suspect, because of her working class background, she is kept at arms length by the snobby Royals in the formative years of K&W’s brood unlike Doria Markle who plays a big part with her grandkids. It is more likely that Kate is showing signs of not coping. Her comfort zone is visiting low key patronages and schools where she chats with kids and parents. She mostly seems to avoid getting involved in situations where she might not cope and will see Meghan’s brilliant performance at the Invictus Games as setting the bar too high for her in Singapore knowing she can not compete. Willy would be horrified if she tried and failed so stay home.
He’s literally the future king, why would he need to take a test to a school he’s going to be accepted in anyways. I figure William doesn’t want Kate there because she will never pass up a fashion moment.
Yep, if they want George at Eton, he’s going to Eton. This is getting more ridiculous by the day. The Windsors are not known for their academic excellence.
^^ True @SarahCS, though there are notable exceptions, including the dashingly handsome and intellectually accomplished, Prince William of Gloucester. He earned an undergraduate degree in history from Magdalene College, Cambridge, and he studied political science, business, and American history for a year, at Stanford University. Prince William later served as a diplomat in Japan. He died in a light aircraft crash, in 1972, shortly after being persuaded by the firm to break up with the love of his life.
As well, Queen Victoria’s youngest son (who had haemophilia), Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, possessed outstanding literary and artistic attributes. He attended Oxford University, where he became president of the chess club. He apparently left with an honorary degree in civil law. I imagine that his illness and royal duties prevented him from officially completing studies for a degree.
That’s the thing – they could move the test for him, or he could fail it completely, that kid is still going to Eton if that’s where William wants him to go. They’re going through the motions for PR.
Even if George does awful on these tests he will still get in Eton. He is a future king ( maybe) and they won’t deny a future king. This is just a lame excuse. And we all know Kate is not a hands on mother, Louis proved that at the Jubilee concert.
Also if these tests are anything like the SAT’s, you can’t really prepare for them. So where would Kate fit in to “help” him? He either knows what he’s expected to know or not. Kate, with her funny faces and jazz hands, would only be a distraction. 😜🤪🤗
And, yeah, he’s got Eton in the bag, if that’s what the plan is.
I spent every Saturday of junior year of high school in SAT prep class. Of course you can prepare. It seems reasonable that George’s parents want to him to succeed on his own merits. George will have a hard enough time at Eton as future king, no need to be teased about failing to meet admissions standards.
In the mid-sixties when I took them, there was no such thing as SAT prep. If there was, I missed it. I have a vague recollection of being told in general what kind of questions to expect, but that was it. And I was instructed to get a good night’s sleep before and a hearty breakfast the day of. My parents’ only role was to have me at the exam site on time, something anyone with a driver’s license could do. I don’t remember my scores, but they got me into college.
@BrassyRebel, more than a decade later, that’s what I thought as well. Then I cot to college and met people who had been strategically preparing for tests like the SATs since birth. While I’m glad that I went through the college application process with relatively minimal stress, it also stands out that the trajectory of my life would have been completely different if I had not done well on two tests — not because I wasn’t capable, but because I didn’t know what I didn’t know, while the other students were prepping.
Honestly, I doubt that George is not a good student, with high-level attributes. But, like all children, he probably excels in certain subjects more than others. He may or may not have an affinity for the rigors of test-taking. In any case, entrance tests are not good indicators of a student’s intellectual acumen. Still, Eton has their strict, snobby requirements. At the same time, of course, no matter George’s test results, he will be accepted to Eton.
For Americans here. your SAT and our SAT’s are not the same … our children take SATs twice in junior school…they should not need tutoring, parental help etc… it is just to ensure they are hitting the targets on reading riting rithmatic. …
It’s called the SAT9. It was an annual test when I was in elementary school, and no, no one studies for it. It’s an aptitude test used as a benchmark to see if students are learning at appropriate levels. It determines school funding from the federal government.
The SAT you take as part of college admissions is not the same thing.
Of course this is all bllsht excuses. This is where we see that Kate always just really wanted to be married to a rich prince without wanting to really work and make her life complicated with royal work. In addition to the fact that there is no love between them, William was trying to prepare us to the idea that they wont be doing events together for at least 2 years now. Kate is like another Melania but less worst, she should’ve been like mistress Camilla, all the perks/no work, but she aimed for the big prize, and she’s gonna get it.
Are we really supposed to believe that George could be turn away from Eton ? Also clearly nanny Maria is not the only nanny taking care of those three children so kan’t being present or not will make zero difference.
Seriously. He’s the future king. He could get the lowest score ever and it wouldn’t matter. There’s no effing way any school will turn him down.
As if the future future king would not be accepted. Please.
And as if Kate could help anyone 🤣😂
LOL @cecile730 I surpirsed myself laughing out loud for real at your comment and checking if anyone was looking at me. Im in a public space guys, looks like im crazy
LOL Cecile730! No lies detected!
Comment of the year!!!
It’s not like she can sit by his side and take the test. And, if he has weaknesses in some areas, I’m sure he has tutors and teachers to prep him. If she is that overly concerned with the test results, she is likely the one putting the pressure on him and stressing him over the procedure. He might be more relaxed if she were gone and backed off of hovering.
They have a head nanny (Maria) and one nanny per child, in addition to plenty of domestic help. I think they have it covered with no need for Kate to be there. I doubt she’ll be of any help anyway and just stresses George out as she doesn’t look comforting to them in any of their photo ops.
Agreed. Kate doesn’t give off a motherly vibe at all.
Even if she could sit by his side and help him take the test, it’s not like she’d actually be any help LMAO. Khate’s not exactly known for her academic brilliance.
Will just doesn’t want her in Singapore, and the excuses are sad.
I came here to say the exact same thing. She’s no Einstein, she’s proven that again and again, and the only reason she squeaked through an obviously easy *art history* degree is she managed to convince other students to let her copy their work because she was too fecking busy chasing Willnot to study.
Okay, if you don’t believe the tutoring excuse, how about this: Kate can’t go to Singapore until Charles goes to Singapore. Better?
So they want me to believe that mumble mcjazzhands will be able to help George with this test? Come on this girl can’t form a cohesive sentence much less help someone else with this test. Peg doesn’t want Can’t to go to Singapore period. He probably has someone else in mind to be slapping his bum.
YES! Something tells me the items on George’s test are already well beyond the academic proficiency levels of either of his parents.
@susanCollins, Susan I did some digging and YES he did take a test last year. This is the biggest pile of steaming bullsht they have come up with, but they know the “great unwashed” will swallow every line of crap they come out with about princess chop chop. See here’s another thing that is biting the press in the ass, haven’t we always been told that Harry was thick? So how come he managed to get in, without a parent helping him with “tests?
They shoot themselves in the foot every bloomin day. Maybe there is a twist there, apart from the fact Billy boy doesn’t want her there to share the spotlight(or check his peg isn’t showing”, maybe George is helping KATE with a test for her early yars next installment 😂😂but I think it’s another kind of test, as in “see, I am a good mummy, and the children are just as happy living with me as they are at daddy’s house”.
@Mary Pester — thanks for being Inspector Clouseau! It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Bonehead put his foot down and said in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed to go to Singapore. The spin that comes out of Windsor is enough to make me dizzy.
Mumble or not, she is his mother. There is non-academic parental support that kids may need before/during high pressure exams, too, leaving your kid with tutors does seem cold. They may not be good people (which I totally believe), they may not even be hands-on parents in a traditional sense (although I can’t imagine what they’d do all day then), but I’m sure they care about their kids and want to support them through difficult things, it doesn’t take a saint to do that.
The website for the test itself says the test can be done online anytime starting in October. So it can be moved to a time that would work for Kate.
This is a made up reason that showed up a week after Tominey broke her story.
@Nic919: Makes sense. That’s the beauty of online standardized tests–they can be done at any time from anywhere–although from this article it appears they want them done at school or other proctored location. And I have no doubt that were it necessary, George could do his at home with a hired proctor. They’ve really gone overboard on the excuses. And as @Mary Pester mentioned above, Harry–the one they always said was so ‘thick’–took these exams & passed, and he did it shortly after losing his mother. This excuse puts no one in a good light.
Harry had to repeat his final year at Ludgrove and entered Eton at 14 instead of the usual age of 13. Whatever his other qualities, he did very poorly on his A levels with a B and a D.
@SSF. Seeing that you know so much how badly did Peg do or is this just shit on Harry?
Sorry Susan Collins but it’s the truth. It doesn’t make him a bad person. All of this can be verified online and William got an A, B and C while Kate got two As and a B. The both graduated with second class honors from St Andrew’s. However much you want to call them stupid, their academic performances were perfectly fine.
LMAO no they weren’t. Maybe Kate did well enough at Marlborough, but not at St Andrews. by many accounts she cheated routinely, did nothing in group work, etc. Maybe she passed but its clear she learned nothing.
SSF, I just checked and children begin their first day of school when they are 4, but must be that age by August 31st. This means Harry started school the next year in 1989–he was 4 and turned 5 on September 15th. There are pictures of Princess Di walking her two sons to school in 1989. So, he did not have to repeat any years at school, he was an older student because of his birthdate from everything I’ve found.
Harry also was dealing with his mother tragically killed when he was turning 13. So that’s a hell of a bigger trauma than mommy going to Singapore for a trip of a few days. If his entrance exam results weren’t great around the time his mother was killed, that’s a really good reason.
Is there really a chance that George won’t be admitted? C’mon. I’d like to think that the school doesn’t waive its entrance requirements for anyone, but are they really going to say no to the king’s oldest grandchild and heir?
100% this. Came here to say the same. George’s admission to Eton is a done deal!
So true. There is no way George is not getting into Eton.
Seriously. If he is actually taking this exam now, it is all performative. He will attend Eton even if he fails.
Even in the crown tv show where late queen as princess took lessons from eton where headmaster particularly concentrated on her. I highly doubt eton will pass on future british king. Getting into eton is very hard even for European royals but not for George. This is same lame bs that kate keen really benched. I dont where i read that some british media are openly taking about wales state of marriage.
ITA Kristen – I was about to post something along the similar lines. I also think it helps that William was a former pupil. The lad might be nervous and might want one of his parents around but, I don’t believe it’s the reason why Kate won”t be going to Singapore. The woman craves attention from the international press and I find it highly unlikely she would willingly miss out on the opportunity of being on the front covers of foreign papers/magazines.
George is the ultimate “legacy” admission.
No there is not.
I feel as if any school anywhere would admit him without any test results whatsoever, probably even the Republican Academy of Not My King school would admit him just for the chance to indoctrinate him on not becoming a king…
Agreed with you all. There’s no way he wouldn’t get in and no test scores would be released.
(sees close-up of Prince George)
And people keep telling me I’m wrong when I say he looks JUST like his great uncle, Charles Spencer.
He has the middleton eyes.
They look like Willy’s to me.
I look at those eyes and see the Duke of Windsor.
@Renae. This is what I see too. He looks so much like the Duke of Windsor.
No, he’s the spitting image of Louie Anderson (American comedian).
He really is.
Oh god bless you for that. That was the funniest thing I’ve read all day.
He’s got a lot of Mike Middleton in him.
I’m with you in seeing a resemblance to his great uncle. Louis is the one who looks more like a Middleton to me.
Not to excuse Kate, but tests here in UK are really hard and kids go through a lot of preparations. I constantly see parents doing everything they can to support the kids during test times.
my son did the 11+ last year to get into grammar school. he had two years of tutoring and home schooling on the test papers so there is a lot of preparation, work and money spent to get into decent schools here for sure. There are so few grammar schools left that its so competitive to get a place.
I can’t imagine the palace is taking this test seriously, unless they are going to report on his scores, and he’ll be going to Eton regardless of the outcome. I can’t get a feel on the sort of parent she is, I imagine a rather disinterested one, so I’m sure she’d rather be in Singapore playing ass-grab.
These rules don’t apply to the royals. The elite schools only want a small number of merit based students so they make it hard for the regular non rich students to get in.
George and Louis are already accepted to Eton will never be rejected.
He’s the future king of England. He’s going to Eton whether he passes or fails.
Year 6 tests are a big deal. I will knock Will and Kate for a lot of things, but not this.
For people unfamiliar with the British private school system, kids take exams at age 10-11 for application to secondary school. UK secondary school is a combination of US middle school, high school and the first couple years of university. Essentially 10-11 year olds take college entrance tests (kinda).
No way will prince George be declined admission. William imo does not want her there
I think it’s both, to be honest.
If these tests are so important, and the dates determined well in advance, why did SuperDad schedule his Earthshit thing this particular time? Shouldn’t he be home supporting his son as well?
Because Peggy is an idiot
I just posted something similar. I could not agree with you more. It is also not right for George to be in the media as allegedly why his mother could not attend earth shot
I’m not sure how much control william has over the dates at this point, it could be all dictated by the board of Eshot, but its also a possibility that he didn’t know when the testing was…..which says a lot.
The EarthShot date is probably set by whoever is running it now and the yardstick for it is to compete with whatever Harry is doing. I don’t fault Burger King for the test not being on his radar as his office most likely keeps his schedule and would have Lambrook’s vacations/breaks blocked off but test dates? Nah.
Lambrook could make an exception for George re: test date if Kate and Will both wanted to be in Singapore. Making allowances for the special needs of the royal family would have been expected and part of the discussion when making the decision to move the kids to Lambrook. For example, George most likely missed school for the coronation practice. Remember, there is one rule for peasants and another for rich royal folk.
I’m sure they are a big deal but George is going to Eton no matter how he does on these exams. He probably already has tutors and people to help him.
I grew up in England and I took important tests at age 10. They were like the SATs to get into university, except they determined which “high school” would accept you. I can’t remember what they were called back then, but a few years later they were called O levels and A levels. That’s why Hogwarts had OWL and NEWT exams. They were the magic equivalent of O levels and A levels.
That said, my parents didn’t even know about these exams. I just took them in school. I didn’t need “support.” Plus, it doesn’t matter what George gets on his exams, he’s going to whatever freaking school his parents want, because that school will die to get him.
‘O’ levels were taken at age 16 – they are now called GCSE’s and are still taken at age 16 ‘A’ levels are taken at age 18. The test you took to decide whether you got into a Grammar School or a Secondary Modern were called the 11+ – if you passed it was Grammar School. They stopped the 11+ in most areas in the late 1960’s.
George will be taking some kind of online test which can be done either at his school or in a special centre (but NOT at home) and mummy dearest doesn’t need to be there for that.
Taking the test can be flexible so he does not HAVE to take it during Earthshot.
@BW: I’m like you–my mom never knew when my exams were, whether ‘important’ or not–and they were all important to me. So much has changed since I was a kid.
Monica: THANK YOU!! Yes, it was the 11+. That was the name of the exam. 11+. It was over 50 years ago. I’d forgotten. I did remember that they no longer gave it.
So I wonder what test George IS taking then? It still sounds like Kate is giving a bullshit reason for not attending Earthshot.
These placement exams apply to the kids whose grandfather isn’t the monarch. They bank on people applying their regular life situation to George for sympathy when the reality is that George has a spot saved for him at Eton no matter what. Same with Louis.
So many brand new names on here making excuse after excuse for Kate, trying to convince the logical Kate critics on this site that the sky is green. Tumblr misses you.
It is an excuse. Even in the states they have entrance exams for private schools, children can take a pre exam a year or two before the actual exam to work on areas. Dates for these exams are usually set a year in advance. Parents were never allowed in the door on testing days. I’m sure normally it isn’t much different there, but who knows after all this they will probably say George is scheduled to take a MENSA exam.
Not from UK, but from european country and kids here take tests at the age of 10, 12 or 14 when applying for highschool. Those tests are extremly demanding and put a huge pressure on the kids. I can’t imagine not having at least one of my parents with me when I took mine.
It begs the question if the test taking date s are set a year ahead of time could not have prince earth shot set the tomes for his event after the tests
Seems like smoke and mirrors . Why did he not want yo be there for support.
I highly doubt George is breaking sweat for these exams like normal kids. His father dummy baldy got into Cambridge university but chuck told him stick to Scotland. I highly doubt these kids will be denied into Eton or worry that much about exams like normal kids.
Yeah, Bonehead didn’t have enough A-levels to get into Cambridge and the student body was enraged that he skated around it to get into a bespoke 10 week course that he skipped out on halfway through.
This is 100% an excuse to cover for the fact that William doesn’t want Kate to go.
If George’s tests were the actual reason, we would have been told that months ago. Someone mentioned over the weekend or late last week that these dates are set out well in advance, so the Waleses would have known of the dates when Singapore was announced in the summer. If Kate wasn’t going to attend the awards because of the tests, it would have been made clear at that point in time.
We were told she was going, now she’s not, and its because William does not want her there.
Generally speaking, is it probably helpful for a young child taking these kinds of tests that seem to determine so much about their future* to have a parent at home to support them? Yes, of course. And if we had been told from the outset that Kate was not going because of these tests, it wouldn’t have been that big a deal. But as it is……
*George’s future, sadly, is already predetermined and that includes going to whichever posh school his parents want him to attend. Eton isn’t turning down the future future king.
The website for the ISEB also suggests these tests can take place anytime starting from October. It’s an online test and there is no way they couldn’t pick a date that worked for their parents travel schedule.
Wait, seriously? So he could just take it the week before Earthshot or something??
LMAO William reallllllly does not want her to go.
George has what we call the 11+. This is for children at private prep schools going to senior schools. One of my children is the same age as George and attends a similar school to the one George attends. My child has to do admissions tests to go to senior schools over the next few months. My child has exams for various schools…. One in October, one in November and a couple in December. Number of exams depends on number of schools you are applying to. Even if I could, there is no way I would travel in the next few months because I need to help my child prepare. So this story rings true.
Interestingly, if George is really doing 11+ exams then he will not be going to Eton. Eton and most boys schools (Winchester, Harrow ) do 13+. My son did this. I’ve never really heard of parents putting a child through 11+ then 13+. It’s usually :
Boys – 4+, 7/8+, 13+ —-GCSEs, A levels
Girls/Co-Ed – 4+, 11+ —-GCSEs, A levels
So it’s likely the schools he’s applying to will take him to to A’levels when he is 17/18 years old.
11+ admissions are intense. Many parents spend 1-2 years prepping their children for them.
I know it seems crazy for a school that starts at age 13, but Eton does the 11+. If the child passes that, then they have a second exam at the end of Year 6. If they are Wait Listed after that exam, they have to take a 3rd exam the following year.
I’ve children who’ve done
the Eton test. It is absolutely not 11+. Never been called that by anyone I know with boys in these schools. You are referring to a pre-test most 13+ (boys) schools do. There is a massive difference between these and what my 10 year old is preparing for.
Now, George may not be doing the 11+ and just be doing the Eton pre-test but that requires very little to no preparation. We did not do anything to prepare. Same as other families in our year group.
@Helen, to be fair, you are the one who said it was the 11+ and then said he couldn’t be going to Eton. The article says this:
“All applicants for year nine sit an online pre-test in the autumn term of year six, either at their current school or at an agreed centre.”
So it seems he’s taking that pre-test you referenced. Then it mentions an entrance exam in year 8 which seems to fit with 13+ timeline.
I would happily stand corrected cause I love learning things, however, in the spirit of edjucayshun, it is called “the 11+”. The formal name of the test is the ISEB Common Pre-tests which (according to ISEB’s website) are known as “the 11+”, “the pre-tests” or “the ISEB”. They are all good.
I wouldn’t be surprised if folks applying to start a school at age 11 use the term “11+” more often than those who are applying to start school at age 13, where the term “pre-test” makes much more sense.
Yes, Eton’s second test is at the end of Year 6 (age 10/11y). I personally find this seems early for entry into a school that doesn’t start until age 13, but whatever.
I can not imagine not prepping for the ISEB (aka Pre-Test, aka 11+).
Apologies to non-Brits reading the most boring comment ever.
Becks, my bad. You are correct. I didn’t read properly. I wanted to make a distinction between 11+ and pre-tests for 13+. They are way way different.
If George is only doing the pre-test for Eton or another 13+ school then they is no reason for Kate not to travel. Seriously this test is not hard nor is it intense like the 11+ you’d do for grammar or private school entry to year 7.
For the pre test – prep school will prep the child well enough. The test is taken at the child’s current school. And no matter how many schools the children has applied for for 13+ entry, they sit one test. That is, the results of this one test is distributed to all the schools the child has been registered for. If they pass they then have further more intense exams in when they are 12 years old.
In short – if he is going to Eton. Then the test excuse is rubbish.
What jumps out at me are the different academic standards for girls than boys. There’s more rigorous testing for the boys. Huh.
Beanie, you are correct.
My boys who did ”the” 13+ did the following exams:
English
Maths
Science
French
Greek (not compulsory if your boys school didn’t teach it)
Latin
History
Geography
My daughter is doing “the” 11+ and only doing english and maths, and the pre test for some of her school choices, not all. Some schools ask for science but not many.
Ocho, I am black African with English as my third language. I am in the throes of chemo and “the” 11+ with my daughter. Apologies a meaningless omission irks the pedant in you.
I know they are called “the” 11+. No need to be patronising. I owned my misreading of the article so the first part of your post was unnecessary.
Can I just say your reply reminds why I’ve found the English school gates awful. British people can be so needless patronising and horrible. “edjucayshun” really?
For whatever reason, Kate isn’t going. What I want see is if she has any “work events” scheduled while William is in Singapore. Is she going to stay home the whole week and pretend to be tutoring George? Or will she visit this or that patronage and take the focus away from William?
Kate needs to get tutors for George and not try to do it herself
Sure, whatever. My question is whether she’ll let William have all the publicity by laying low for the week, or if she’ll go out and do various “jobs” to pull the tabloids away from Earthshot. As dull as she is, she’s still more interesting that William.
@Eurydice – well now she’s in a tough place, isnt she? My guess is she wants to do some events to pull focus and punish william, but now they’ve put out there that this is about Kate supporting George, so she cant really be seen working.
My money is on her either ‘popping’ up at an engagement or she organises a pap stroll where she’s seen driving George to his test wearing pearls.
@Becks1 – Interesting. In that case, it sounds like this last minute “George is testing” is a leash to keep her in the house until William comes back. She doesn’t usually obey very well, we’ll see.
Kate will absolutely try to pull focus just like she did for William’s big Email Tour in NY or how she and Pegs tried to overshadow IG. She’s already telegraphed that she is upset at not going, you just know she’ll be working everyday until Will is back. That’s her M.O.
Maybe we’ll get a pap shot of her carrying around some test prep books during the week of earthshot.
Oh now that is interesting. Maybe the George is testing line came from William, not from Kate and her family to cover up her absence. Since she’s staying home to support her son in this very stressful time, she has to of course devote herself fully to him, so cannot plan any engagements during the week or whatever William is away.
This would also explain why we didnt hear the excuse until after his NY trip. He was ticked at her public events that week and he is making sure she stays benched this time.
It’s not the craziest tinfoil tiara theory we’ve had here…….
I’ve said it last week that I think the tests are genuine. I know he’ll get in even if he gets a 0 on those tests.
I’m just interested in why this has been announced seemingly last minute and why this is being framed as a Kate only/heavy decision. It’s all “Kate is not going” and not “William and Kate made the decision to support George”. Again I did say it before that while the tests are real, I also do think it’s a legitimate cover of Kate not going for whatever reason.
Charles did not have the best grades but got into Cambridge
“I know he’ll get in even if he gets a 0 on those tests.”
Winston Churchill failed his entrance exam to Harrow and they still let him in.
“ I know he’ll get in even if he gets a 0 on those tests.”
It’s being framed as Kate Only because Peg and Khate aren’t briefing the rota as a unified pair. She’s (or CarolE) is pushing the “Khate’s a devoted Mum” angle, and Peg is more than happy to throw her under the bus and say it’s her decision (even if it’s not, and everyone knows it).
Or the rota rats aren’t being told to push the ‘her decision’ by Peg, but figure she may be on her way out, so they’re playing up that angle knowing which side of their bread is buttered.
In any case, it is interesting. Very interesting.
My question is why would William schedule his awards show during the same week that George has this important test? Plus wouldn’t Eton exempt George from this test because he’s heir to the throne? And since Kate is not going to Singapore doesn’t this mean that she and William are on the verge of divorce?
Earthshot is a separate corporation and William isn’t the only one on the board with a vote. I don’t think George would be exempted from the exam, but I don’t think whether he passes or fails will make any difference – Eton will want the future king. And I don’t think this specific instance of Kate not going to Singapore means they’re getting a divorce – after all, Meghan didn’t arrive in Dusseldorf until several days later. But there have been so many other signals of marital problems between Kate and William that it makes sense to be suspicious.
@Eurydice: I hope you know that my last sentence was sarcastic. I was just pointing out how ridiculous it was for the press to say that Meghan and Harry were on the verge of divorce just because they were doing things separately. Plus Earthshot is an separate entity but William is still the driving force behind it. If he said he couldn’t go to Singapore in the first week in November, Earthshot would have found a new date. The awards show was in December last year.
@Amy Bee – ooops, sorry, I missed your sarcasm.
As for William – I guess the scheduling depends on how far in advance they planned this binge. William is the front man, but he’d show up no matter when it was scheduled – Earthshot is that big a deal for him and his event calendar isn’tsuper crowded. The only reasons I can think of for why he’s going during George’s exam time is 1) he forgot about it, 2) he doesn’t think it’s a big enough deal that he has to be there for it, or 3) this is a good excuse to keep Kate from coming with him.
Exactly. William’s scheduling (or allowing to be scheduled) of this trip during his son’s all-important exams shows up the “hands-on father” lie.
I wonder if it is a passive-aggressive dig by Kate to Bully. “Here I am helping our son with his exam into YOUR old school while you’re swanning off to New York and Singapore.”
Too bad George has to be dragged into this by the media.
If we’re blaming anyone it should be his parents. His parents – and specifically in this case, his mother (and perhaps her family) – seem to be the one dragging George into the media conversation. Just like Pegs and Buttons do whenever they need good press or to distract from their own failing marriage or bad headlines. Suddenly we’ll get sanctioned family time photos of burger munching or walks in the park.
The media are complicit but it’s his own parents that are throwing him to the wolves.
This! They use their own children. Anything to deflect, find an excuse, shore up their reputation, or earn some brownie points with the public and they’ll feed their kids to the wolves in the press room.
Horrible parents.
If the exams are THAT important for a future, future King, why will William be in Singapore?
Surely he should be with George helping him?
Also, George already has a place at Eton. He can fail the exams a million times, he is still getting in.
Is ‘can you test the smell by smelling it’ really the best person to help anyone prepare for anything?! It’s clear she’s never even prepared for her own work. But, yes sure, this all sounds totally legit.
If my eyes roll back any further they’re gonna pop out of my skull and on to the floor.
Also, as Kaiser mentioned, if this was the real reason they would have just said it from the start! It’s clear Pegs wants some alone time from his ass- and headline-grabbing wife.
Has William convinced himself that Waity was the factor holding his ES awards back from their true “global worldwide blockbuster event” glory? He’s in for a rough awakening.
I could see a world in which taking this exam is a way to show George’s character (and, by extension, how great of a mother Kate is). That he is taking an exam just like every other student and not expecting to have the rules changed just for him, no special treatment for George. So humble!
But then we’d be hearing more from the rota about how George wants to get into Eton on his own merits and not simply because he’s the future future king, and more about how Kate’s stable Middleton upbringing being the key to her children’s success etc etc.
i have friend in the UK whose kids are going through the same exams , other touring schools to send their kids next year for which they will also sit similar exams. it is a big deal.
i also agree that George will attend even if he fails, but it will be a BIG story if he gets a place even if he fails , i can totally see them wanting to avoid this at all costs. This puts an awful lot of pressure of George to pass.
We all know that this marriage is failing, but this particular instance isn’t a smoking gun according to me.
Are results to these exams public? It’d be wild if so honestly. Not only these are children, but it’s also private schools (or public because UK) so I don’t understand why they would be. In any case George could catastrophically fail and both Eton and KP would happily lie about it. There’s no way it would become a story.
these things have a way of coming public , just like we know the A levels scores of various members of the RF and like the debunked story in Spare about how a teacher helped harry to cheat in this exams.
If this was the real reason, they could have mentioned it from the beginning.. instead this piece of information circulated several days after Kate’s absence for earthshot was revealed..
They need to leave George out of this. I know the Wails pride themselves on being better parents than Chuck, but this feels like a last minute excuse to me.
Can they please stop throwing their children under the bus?
Can’t work – blame the kids
Late for coronation – blame the kids
can’t got to Singapore – blame the kids
That is just this year and I am sure I have missed some
W&K really need to stop using the kids like this, they are literally leaving digital receipts everywhere. Harry tore down the “veil” over royal life; and chances are, one of those three kids is going to spill when they get older.
All his school chums are going to be like “mommy has to help you study for your test” and he can’t say that it isn’t true because then he is calling his mother a liar.
She is really hurting him when she uses him as her excuse
It’s a done deal for George.
Anyway, as long as she doesn’t come here she can use any excuse. 1 insufferable is enough. Just stay where you are kthxbye.
It’s an ONLINE test. means that it can be taken at ANY time, honestly. This ish is just so lame it’s hard to imagine that they expect people to believe it.
Ofc Eton are going to fall over themselves to have the FF King attend their school. George could flat out fail every subject and he would still be admitted. This is such nonsense, it’s absurd to even discuss it
Also, lolz at K tutoring George 🫠 That’s what Nannies and Tutors are for. WTF is K actually going to do to help him? Realistically
I’m sure George could actually tutor his mother. She’s not the sharpest crayon in the box.
For starters it’s an online test called the ISEB Common Pre-Test, and a quick check of the Eton website would tell the Telegraph that. It is generally taken in the Autumn before the child turns 11 (the age at which they would be going to Secondary School) but that can be taken in either October OR November! Secondly, are they really saying that a future King, the son of the NEXT King, who himself is also an alumni of the School, is NOT going to be admitted to their sacred echelons automatically? They will be literally salivating at getting the endorsement of educating TWO future Kings. It really is a dismal, last-minute excuse pulled from the KP bottom drawer of ‘what stupid excuse can we use this week to deflect from the truth’.
Oh please, the boy is the ffk , he doesn’t need to take any exams to get into any school. He will get in because he is the ffk the end . Wank benched buttons and that’s all there is to this
I believe it’s written in Eton’s charter that if any employee seriously suggests withholding a place from a prince of the realm for any reason, including poor test results, the Headmaster has the right to toss said employee out a window.
We are all missing the point here.. I’m certain that there is an online test as mentioned in other comments, a rather important one.. However, I’m sure that many of us have young children who during their school years pass different kind of important exams…but, who among us common folks could always be present for the days previous to the exams and during? Some of us have to work and this kind of reason isn’t acceptable to miss work for most of the bosses…
Good point. Kid in the hospital? Acceptable excuse for missing work. Kid taking an exam? Unacceptable excuse, in the ‘are you kidding me?’ realm.
Exactly! So, no, this isn’t an acceptable excuse in my opinion..
Once again, the Wales’s are failed by their PR team (or vice versa). If they had said at the outset that Kate wasn’t going to Singapore because of George’s exams, people would shrugged, said ‘whatever, sure Jan”’ and moved on. Maybe she would have even gotten praise from the stans. But no, they dragged it out in some “will she or won’t she and why” drama, so now the “she has to be there for exams” reason, no matter how valid, seems like a lame excuse. How are they so bad at this?
They have repeatedly mentioned that “it’s the first time” since the inauguration of the awards that she hasn’t attended. It has only been in place since 2021; it’s not as though they’ve been held for a decade yet suddenly the racist wife won’t be by the racist husband’s side.
Georgie could turn in a blank test and would still be admitted. His acceptance was a done deal the moment they announced that he was a boy.
If only there was an admittance test to the monarchy — in which admittance was based on competency and honesty, rather than just whiteness and snootiness.
What exactly can she do? He’d have a tutor and test prep classes to help him prepare. She’s not going because either she doesn’t want to go or her husband doesn’t want her there. They always use their kids as a shield, and while they rightfully should be as protected as possible, they themselves use their kids as a buffer. Meanwhile Meghan is still being given a hard time if she comes to Invictus later in the week because she wants to be with her two, who are under 5, because her children aren’t deserving of care and protection. I’ll tell you the UK media will be more interested in getting pics of Kate doing school runs than whatever William ends up doing in Singapore.
Using kids to cover for a bad marriage in the press… yuck.
How desperate and transparent. Utter BS.
Tests and crap. Carole and Kate really think this will work. Gross.
Royalists love to claim that Harry is as dumb as a box of rocks but he got into Eton as the Spare yet they want us to believe that Eton would reject the future future King? Lol. Those tests are important but there is just no way a future King would get rejected by Eton i mean come on.
Also it’s not like they just found out the test dates two weeks ago or that this event was just sprung on them; these test schedules are released well in advance and this is literally WILLIAM’S EVENT. If they are so worried about this test why even pick that week for this event? Do the children not need William’s support as well? This is all so dumb and i doubt even the people forced to write this crap believe it.
I’ve seen other comments online stating that he wouldn’t be expected to do a really onerous test until age 11. Any test right now is sort of a preliminary assessment, that’s not something you can really study for. The only way this would be a legitimate excuse would be if it was a tough exam, and he has a learning disability and needs moral and other support. Also, Eton accepted Harry, who admits he was no ace scholar. I’m sure the future king isn’t going to have a tough time getting in.
Schools like Eton probably have long legacy lists. The future king went there, as well as his brother. So George’s name probably went on the list when he was born.
She is copy-keening Meghan again.
Kate was going all along. Then Meghan delayed her arrival at Invictus to help the children settle in at pre-school /nursery.
Not to be outdone, Kate has found a child based excuse to stay home. Proving of course that she’s a good mum too….
Isn’t it obvious? Willy is bringing his sidepiece to Singapore. He wants to take this person to the mile high club. Kate’s options were grin and bear it or stay home. She chose stay home but the excuse machine was broken so helping George with an exam was the best she/Carole could come up with.
Here’s a good use of a FOIA. Finding out the names of the people traveling with Willy to the US then digging in to their backgrounds.
This story is over flogged and completely irrelevant! Next…..
At least it’s a better excuse than William’s excuse about not going to the women’s world cup game because it was bad for the environment. Oh, are the winners actually invited to this one? Or is it still bad for the environment if you are an award winner but not a celebrity?
To those of you saying that George taking the test(s) doesn’t really matter — because he’s assured of admission wherever he wants to go: if this “excuse” is accurate, it’s one of the few times that I’d applaud their parenting skills. For George to survive, and hopefully thrive, it’s likely to be very helpful to him to have these difficult rites of passage in common with his peers. Critical even. This sheltered kid is going to need to survive boarding school. He’s the FFK, if he goes to Eton he’ll be (I think) within walking distance of Adelaide, and his sister won’t be there with him. There are a lot of factors that could easily lead to him being bullied. I think it’s prudent to make the entrance process at least look “fair” and maybe even feel “fair” to George— so that he can celebrate his accomplishments, whatever they may be, rather than just his birth, and so he doesn’t start off in ways that even more starkly set him apart from classmates who should feel like peers. (including the Peers).
All this, assuming that he is successful..what would happen if he fails? How his peers would react knowing that he gets the entrance to Eton just because he’s the future king?wouldn’t he be bullied by them?
Are the exams Pass/ Fail? Are the scores made public?
Since I hope that neither of those things will be true, anyone who wants to can mutter that George’s place was always secure. Even with that, I still hold that it’s better for George to take the tests — and to be known to be taking the tests.
I’d also guess that George has been supported in ways that will allow him to be successful. Certainly if he did not take the tests that all of the other students are required to take, his peers — and George himself— will indeed know that his admission is based on him being the FFK. That’s exactly why I think he should take the exams, and prepare for them as well as it’s possible for him to prepare.
He won’t fail because nanny Maria took care of any tutoring. Had kate actually known when this test took place this would have been mentioned months ago when this trip to Singapore was announced. George would have had tutoring set up earlier this year to be ready for this test. It hasn’t been arranged just a few months before. Which also means William would have known of this test back when the Singapore trip was first scheduled.
Lambrook would have scheduled the test months ago and likely around the same time every year. So both parents don’t really have an excuse for not being around.
It sounds like a last minute excuse to quiet the talks about the concerns about their relationship. They both presumably attended schools that required this type of test at this age, at least admittedly by these sudden articles. They both also (according to this article and others) visited Eton over a month ago in preparation for him possibly attending the school later. So as two people who presumably have experience taking this type of test at this stage of their schooling and at that time of year, shouldn’t they have been aware of this test far enough in advance to not have announced for months that she was going to be there in Singapore with William? She supposedly does everything she can as the Mother Theresa of our time to avoid going too far away from her children for school drop offs and pickups, but neither of them or their staff considered either scheduling the Earthshot event on a different date or to at least not announce that she would be there?
George will get into Eton if that’s where he ends up going regardless of how well he does on the 11+ exam or any other exam he has to take for admission. By his own admission, Harry barely got into Eton, I forget if he just got in because William was there, I’ll have to reread Spare to remember the details. But he admitted he did poorly there and did not get good grades, meaning university for him was out of the question given he barely survived middle/high school academically. So George will get into Eton, even if he struggles academically like Harry did.
So sure, Kate wants to to be there for this exam but it seems from above commenters the exam can be scheduled whenever and done on the computer at school or at a testing center? So not the real reason she’s not going to Singapore.
I’m commenting as a mum whose son attended an International School abroad – trust me when I say “This stuff matters” It doesn’t matter who you are or what stock you came from (imagine the papers if he doesn’t do well on his exams?). It is credibly possible to get streamlined due to a “bad” day during exams. Let this one go, and cut her some slack for putting her child before “The Firm, and appearances”
You do bring up a good point. I remember Harry saying that all his grades were published in the papers. This will probably be the case for George.
I would cut her slack if I believed she was putting her child before the firm, but I don’t believe it at all. Just like I don’t believe the reasons they put out for her staying behind when TQ died.
First, it was widely reported Khate was going to Singapore (and everyone knew months ago that George would be going through these tests during the time of that event).
Second, when it was reported she wasn’t going, no reason was given. NONE. It was only after the ‘Pegs must not want her to be there’ narrative started on social media that the excuse was rolled out.
Third, the press won’t report on George’s tests if he does bad. People might rumor monger on social media, but the royal rota will treat George very differently than they did Harry for a variety of reasons. He’s the heir, not designated scapegoat, plus the agreement the family has with the rota these days is very different than it was back then. KP pitched a fit about Khate’s botox and extensions FFS, you think they’d allow the rota rats to say George was dumb? KP has stupid staff, but not that stupid. The rats aren’t stupid either, their readership LOVES to hate on H&M and their kids, but they would not stand for bullying a white male heir to the crown.
Please. If Pegs wanted Khate to be there, she would be there, tests or no tests for George. It’s just an excuse, and a really bad one IMO.
“Kate’s mothering priorities are so major, she would never abandon her children to a fleet of nannies for a few days!”
Snort, sure, unless she’s sunbathing in Mustique or on a Caribbean Flop Tour.
George would have had the entire school year until now, to prepare for that test.
It would have been part of the syllabus, he does not need ???
The future Queen Consort of the British Throne is creating excuses publicly to try to dispel work-shy rumors.
Yeah… I would say things are going well.
She’s not going because they are not together and both are tired of the charade. I am convinced of this. I don’t buy that the men in gray were all, “woopsie! Scheduled Earthshot at the same time that George will have to take a bunch of exams to get into, Eton because we have zero experience with Eton and haven’t been planning George’s education since his conception or anything you guys! So now Kate will have to not go to Singapore, which she totally wanted to go to and was really looking forward to a plane ride with William, because yes. They’re still married you guys! One hundo!”
They’ve split up and, you know what? That is their business and if they have made some arrangement then fine. But FFS these people are STILL pushing racist crap towards Meghan to distract and THAT is the issue with them doing all these backflips. They are hurting and abusing people to hide the truth.
This. They are hurting and abusing people to hide the truth. They hurt and abused Meghan by telling lies and then lie about the truth.
This ‘children as an excuse’ ruse is going to go on for decades then become ‘grandchildren as an excuse’. Just fill in blank.
I can’t stand parents who coddle their children like this. I had to take tests and do interviews for two years before I got into my middle school (no, it wasn’t private or boarding. Just a specialized public school in NYC). While my parents encouraged me they didn’t hold my hand through it bc in the end I had to be the one to get through school. George is going to be a spoiled little b*tch if this is true.
Kate is not going to Singapore because her husband William believes she will add NO VALUE to his “statesman” projection. She is just a distraction who will pull focus from him. He obviously is not proud of her and feels embarrassed by her mere presence. He feels disgusted with her and so he can’t even look at her or hold her hand. To avoid the body language furore he’d rather she stays back at home and go with the alibi of helping George with his exam.
Sooo, they do have a “fleet of nannies?”
Thousands of kids take these tests. These kids are well prepared since birth. Do you really think any of this is left to chance? It’s a pre-test. It’s not the hi-stake one that they’ll take later.
You can bet Eton’s doors will open wide with green carpet for George regardless. William’s narcissism wouldn’t allow anything else. This is how the real world works.
Once again these two useless narcissists fed their kid to the press. That’s bad parenting.
Kit, you said it. It’s George’s fault their marriage sucks and Kate has to stay far away from Will. I honestly think all of Kate’s look-at-me Disney villainess pics at Philip’s funeral was the first time Will fully realized what a fame-wh0re she is and she would literally pull focus from a corpse. Isn’t that when she was also banned from the Diana statue unveiling? I guess he usually just didn’t pay her any mind at functions, and those funeral photos really blew his mind! And opened his eyes.