Prince Harry And Prince William: How Were They As Students At Eton?

While Prince Harry did not go to a university like Prince William, he did attend Eton College like his older brother. The institution is one of the most prestigious schools in the United Kingdom. It not only educates royals and other members of the aristocracy, but it has also consistently churned out exceptional students, 18 of which became prime ministers.

Aside from minting top politicians, the school also produced some of Britain’s most notable actors such as Tom Hiddleston, Damian Lewis and Eddie Redmayne. Obviously, Eton’s standards must be quite high to achieve such a feat. Royal fans are, in fact, curious how Prince William and Prince Harry might have fared as students and how it was like going to school with the two princes.

Former students say that despite being Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s sons and Queen Elizabeth II’s grandsons and being third and fourth in line to the throne (at that time), William and Harry did not throw their weight around. They tried to act just like ordinary students would and integrated well into the school’s student population.

In fact, there was minimal fuzz given to the fact that they are princes. “The attitude towards them was very matter of fact,” one Eton alumnus named Jim told The Cut. The only thing that distinguished them as princes was that there was an HRH before their names in the 300-page booklet that contained all of the students’ names.

Another former student said that Harry acted just like a normal student. “He had normal friends; he used to go to people’s birthday parties,” shared Alexander, adding that his guards were unobtrusive and just stayed in the background. “He used to go out with people in London and go to clubs.”

He also added that the school made an effort to make it seem like the two princes were just normal students, so both William and Harry can develop and grow up on their own. “I think Eton as well has a tradition of having people there from aristocratic backgrounds, they’re kind of used to dealing with those people and making sure they are integrated properly,” Alexander speculated.

However, there were some accusations that Harry might have gotten some help so he pass a subject. Former Eton teacher Sarah Forsyth claimed that she was asked by the school’s head of art, Ian Burke, “to prepare text to go with some of Harry's work for his Expressive Project,” according to a report by The Guardian.

“I was concerned that this was unethical and probably constituted cheating,” Forsyth told an employment tribunal as she claimed unfair dismissal. “I assumed I had been asked to do this because Prince Harry was a weak student.”

Forsyth also claimed that Harry even thanked her for her help. She said that the reasons Mr. Burke dismissed her were because of the “Harry mess” and so that he could give her position to his girlfriend.

The former teacher later won her unfair dismissal case, and Eton entered into a settlement with her. In consequence, Forsyth received £45,000 in damages. “It is clear whichever version of the evidence is accepted that Mr Burke did ask the claimant to assist Prince Harry with text for his expressive art project,” the tribunal stated.

“Maybe it's just part of who I am,” Harry commented on the accusations. “I have to deal with it. There's lots of things people get accused of. Unfortunately mine are made public.”