How Far The Middleton Siblings Really Got In School

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Catherine, Princess of Wales' college education didn't exactly go as planned. In royal biographer Kate Nicholl's 2013 book, "Kate: The Future Queen," she claimed that the beloved royal had her heart set on going to Edinburgh University to make good use of its best-in-class art history program. In a surprising turn of events, Kate Middleton ultimately decided that she didn't want to attend the prestigious university after being accepted in. Instead, the future princess sought to take a gap year and enroll at St. Andrews. According to Omid Scobie's 2023 tell-all book "Endgame," her mom, Carole Middleton, triggered the abrupt change of plans to ensure that her daughter would end up in Prince William's path. 

Although his future wife enrolled in the university to study art history and psychology, she eventually ended up dropping psychology altogether. A throwback pic of Kate Middleton from her college days gave the impression she had barely changed at all but Arthur Edwards, a royal photographer at The Sun, proclaimed that that wasn't the case. When he looked back at the first photo he had snapped of her in 2005, Edwards couldn't help but notice how Kate Middleton had enjoyed a stunning transformation from a "shy" college kid, who had completely flown under his radar, to a poised princess. 

When the Princess of Wales chatted with former "Great British Bake Off" host Mary Berry, for a 2019 BBC Christmas special, she revealed that she was awful at her college job as a waitress. Even so, by all accounts, it seems as though Kate Middleton's life at college was about as normal as it could possibly be while dating a royal. After all was said and done, the future Princess of Wales graduated with a History of Arts degree and 2:1 honors.

Pippa Middleton ended up living out Catherine, Princess of Wales' educational dreams in a way by attending Edinburgh University herself. According to The Standard, while she strived to get a degree in English Literature, Pippa befriended some of the wealthiest students at the university. Over a decade after earning her first degree, Pippa returned to college. This time around, the Middleton middle child enrolled in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David to earn a master's degree in Physical Education, Sport and Physical Literacy. According to Hola! magazine, her choice of degree merged Pippa's love of both children and exercise. In her studies, Pippa chose to zero in on the early physical development stages of kids, to help mothers like herself better understand their needs. 

In 2022, she graduated with a distinction. In fact, the only Middleton child to have not completed their college education is also the only boy, James Middleton. In his 2024 book "Meet Ella," the youngest Middleton child disclosed that his dyslexia and ADD made learning a big struggle. So, when James snagged a spot at Edinburgh University, he chose to study criminology, environmental studies, and geography, believing that they would be easier subjects since they would have multiple-choice questions in exams. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and he failed his first-year exams. Speaking to GQ in 2012, James admitted that he never thought he was cut out for college in the first place. So, he went against the advice of loved ones and dropped out to scratch an entrepreneurial itch and start his own cake company, which sadly also ultimately went up in flames.