People are always curious about the British Royal Family, especially when it comes to their education. As revealed by the royal biographer, Katie Nicholl, in her 2013 book, Kate: The Future Queen, Kate Middleton’s college life didn’t go as she planned. According to the author, Middleton wanted to pursue the art history program at Edinburgh University. However, ultimately, despite being accepted into the university, she decided not to join. Instead, Catherine took a gap year and then enrolled in St. Andrews. Even after that, life threw a lot of curveballs her way. Despite everything, her college life was normal in every sense.
After all, the future princess managed to graduate with a History and Arts degree. But what about her siblings? While Kate Middleton herself passed up the opportunity to attend the University of Edinburgh, her sister, Pippa Middleton, enrolled there. The family’s middle child pursued a degree in English literature while also becoming cordial with a lot of the wealthiest students at the university, as reported by The Standard.
The Princess of Wales & her sister Pippa Middleton 💖 pic.twitter.com/qwtP11HW6B
— Princesslookbook (@royal_diaries) July 25, 2025
A decade after earning her first degree, Pippa returned to pursue a new one. She enrolled in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David to pursue a master’s degree in Physical Education, Sport and Physical Literacy. She wanted to learn the physical development stages of kids so she could help moms like herself. Hola! magazine reports that she chose to pursue this degree because of her keen interest in children and their exercise needs. Ultimately, in 2022, Pippa graduated with a distinction.
While Kate and Pippa definitely got their degrees, their brother, James Middleton, failed to do so. In fact, he is the only one among the Middleton children who didn’t complete his college education. In his book, Meet Ella, which was published in 2024, James further detailed his learning struggles, which stemmed from his ADD and dyslexia.
They say dogs are a man’s best friend and James Middleton, the Princess of Wales’s brother, couldn’t agree more with his beloved pets playing a huge part in supporting his mental health. pic.twitter.com/LOzhi4QgVt
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 28, 2025
Just like his sisters, the youngest Middleton child managed to claim a spot at Edinburgh University. He chose to pursue criminology, environmental studies, and geography. He believed it would be easier for him, as the exam questions would be multiple-choice.
However, fate was not quite in his favor, as he failed his first-year exams. In 2012, James told GQ that he truly believed that he was not fit for college in the first place. He understood it wasn’t for him and chose to go against his family by dropping out. Instead of a college education, James pursued his entrepreneurial interests and opened his own cake company.
