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Edward VII, William’s great-great-great-grandfather, wasn’t the
first British royal to attend the university but he was the first
heir to the throne to finish his studies there. And his mother,
Queen Victoria, might have wished he hadn’t bothered. Albert
Edward, Prince of Wales went up to Trinity College in 1861 to read
history. But that same year, the future king also spent some
time training with the Army and during that period, rumours of a
relationship with actress Nellie Clifden reached his parents at
Buckingham Palace. His father, Prince Albert, went to Cambridge to
talk to his son about his behaviour even though the Prince Consort
was unwell at the time of the trip. The experience didn’t help his
fragile health and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha died two weeks later
leaving Queen Victoria bereft and in mourning for the rest of her
life. Edward’s university career ended soon afterwards.
Edward’s own son and heir, Albert Victor, also attended Cambridge
following in the family footsteps by going up to Trinity in 1883.
He spent two years there and, like his father, combined his time
studying with military training. This king in waiting was
excused any exams and left the university in 1885, without
obtaining a degree but his death in 1892 from flu meant that the
University would have to wait before it could claim to have
educated another British king.
The unexpected accession of George VI in 1936 in the wake of the
Abdication Crisis put another alumni of Trinity on the throne of
Great Britain. This future king was just a spare to the heir
when he went up to Trinity in 1919 to study history, economics and
civics for a year. The heir, big brother Edward, had gone to Oxford
but his decision to give up his crown to marry Wallis Simpson meant
that Cambridge won this particular university challenge.
George VI’s grandson, the present king in waiting, kept up the
Windsor link to Trinity College Cambridge and spent three years
there before becoming the first heir to the British throne to
obtain a degree. Charles, Prince of Wales graduated with a 2:2 in
1970 and can now add B.A (Hons) Cantab after his name. His
littlest brother, Edward, also went to Cambridge but instead
attended Jesus College where he, too, gained a 2:2.
Prince Charles graduated with a 2:2 from Cambridge.
But queens have had, arguably, far more success with Cambridge University. The current monarch of Denmark, Margrethe II, attended Girton College in 1961 spending a year there studying prehistoric archaeology. The then Princess Margrethe had only just been named heiress presumptive of Denmark after a change in the law which gave succession rights to women. Her time at Girton, which then only accepted female students, was part of several years of study around Europe that formed part of her preparation to become her country’s queen regnant.
Margrethe’s accession in 1972 meant she became the first Cambridge student to become a queen in Europe in the 1970s. On November 2nd 1975, the accession of Juan Carlos as king of Spain made his wife Sofia his consort and gave the country a Cambridge alumnus as its Queen. Sofia, Princess of Greece, spent time studying at Fitzwilliam Hall before her engagement and marriage. Along with her husband, Queen Sofia is now a Fellow of Fitzwilliam which became a College in 1966.
While the number of royal women to have attended Cambridge is smaller than the total of princes and kings, they’ve arguably enjoyed more success after their education. Perhaps Prince William should spend some time studying their paths to a degree at his new home to make sure his ten weeks go well.
photo credits: .aditya. and The Great Photographicon via photopin cc]]>
Let’s also keep in mind that, as of 1990, only 5 members of the fam had ever graduated from a university. And several of them who did (e.g. AWOL Edward), did so under questionable circumstances (Edward’s A-levels weren’t high enough to have received admission if he were anyone other than AWOL Edward).