Education is one of the most important journeys that an heir to the throne can undertake in order to prepare for the role that awaits them.
As he turns 18 and becomes an adult, let’s take a look back at the academic studies tackled by His Royal Highness Prince Christian of Denmark.
From the start of his education journey, he made history as the first member of the Royal Family to ever attend nursery school; his parents enrolled him in the Dronning Louises Bornehus in Fredensborg, where the family resided at the time.
When it came time for Prince Christian to start school, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary selected Tranegaardsskolen in Hellerup, where he happily settled and stayed until the beginning of 2020, when he and his three siblings were supposed to spend three months in Lemania-Verbier International School.
However, as Covid began to spread in the first few weeks of the year, the family made the undoubtedly difficult decision to withdraw the children and fly them back to Denmark.
It wasn’t to be the last hurdle in Prince Christian’s academic experience, and the next one was a shock to so many people in the country.
In August of 2021, he began classes at Herlufsholm Boarding School, meaning that he went to live there. Since the school accepts both boys and girls, it was decided that his younger sister, Princess Isabella, would follow him there.
However, on the 5th May 2022, Danish TV channel TV2 released a documentary in which more than 50 former students alleged repeated episodes of bullying, sexual assault and a general culture of violence and silence.
The Crown Prince and Princess released a short statement after the broadcast of the documentary condemning bullying, and saying: “As parents of a child at the school, we expect that the school will do what it must do to rectify the unacceptable conditions”.
Then, towards the end of August 2022, after a summer of family decisions, they announced that Prince Christian would be pulled away from the school, and that Princess Isabella would not start there.
Instead, Prince Christian switched over to Ordrup Gymnasium, the first co-ed school in the country. It was founded in 1873 with the aim of moving away from traditional teaching methods to focus instead on promoting individual curiosity, cooperation and respect.
This has also meant a return home for Prince Christian, who, not unlike many of his peers in other European monarchies, has foregone his rights to a State allowance until he turns 21, when he is expected to be able to undertake more engagements in his role.
This also gives the public a clue as to what the future holds; the Prince is set to complete his secondary education in May 2024, after which it seems like he will either go on to attend university or opt for military training.
Either way, his academic journey is not over yet, and the Danish people will undoubtedly follow his next steps with interest, as his decisions will give an even clearer clue of what type of king he will be one day.
