Latest news with #Etonians
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Princess Diana Insisted That Prince William and Prince Harry Forego This Royal Tradition
A new royal book, Dianaworld, chronicles Princess Diana's insistence that her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, attend Eton College, as the men in her family had. By sending her sons to Eton, Diana bucked royal tradition of sending the men in the family to Gordonstoun in Scotland, where Prince Charles attended. A similar debate is reportedly occurring about whether to send Prince George to Eton or to Marlborough College (where Kate Middleton attended) when he changes schools in Diana was groundbreaking for the royal family in many ways—for starters, the way she parented and the way she wasn't afraid to show her emotions in public. Perhaps nowhere is her enduring legacy still felt on the royal family more than the way she parented, which—not an overstatement—truly broke the mold for royal parenting. It can be seen in the way that both of her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, parent their own children up to the present day. As the 'Eton versus Marlborough' debate rages on about where the Prince and Princess of Wales' eldest child, Prince George, will attend school next year, a new book looks back at how Diana bucked royal tradition when it came to where to send William and Harry to school. In Dianaworld: An Obsession (which came out April 29), author Edward White shares that Diana 'insisted' that William and Harry be educated differently than their father Prince Charles and grandfather Prince Philip had been. 'Once her sons were born, she was firmly of the mind that her responsibility was to shape them as new types of Windsors, providing a new style of kingship,' White wrote (via Marie Claire). William and Harry's educational future was 'something that occupied the attentions of rather a lot of people in the late eighties and early nineties,' White continued—not unlike George's future is capturing the royal zeitgeist today. When William and Harry ultimately attended Eton College, it was a tradition-breaking move, as Charles and Philip, as well as Charles' brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, all attended Gordonstoun in Scotland. To put it mildly, Charles had a miserable time at Gordonstoun, but even still wanted his own sons to be educated there. But Diana 'rejected all these suggestions' for her sons 'and insisted the boys be sent to board at Eton College,' White wrote. In the Princess of Wales' mind, 'the Englishness that Diana wanted to install in her children was aristocratic rather than royal.' After all, Eton was where the men of Diana's family, the Spencers, attended—her father and only brother both were Etonians (as were 20 British prime ministers). 'When Diana spoke of raising princes who were in touch with 'the man on the street,' she meant by making them more like the men in her family,' White added. When William and Harry enrolled at Eton—William becoming the first senior royal and future monarch to be educated at the school—White wrote that Diana made 'her sons more typical of the English upper classes than her ex-husband [Charles] has ever been.' Diana's edict won out, and now it remains to be seen whether George will follow in the Eton tradition, or buck it and start a new tradition of his own at Marlborough (which is his mother's alma mater). Read the original article on InStyle
The Independent
03-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Labour MP: VAT charge on private schools could make elitist system more elitist
The amount of VAT imposed on private schools should be based on turnover, to prevent smaller schools getting 'caught in this trap', a Labour MP has said. Rupa Huq raised concerns the Government's policy to apply 20% VAT to private school education and boarding fees could make an 'elitist system more elitist'. The policy, which came into effect earlier this year, is aimed at raising money to fund state schools. During a debate on the VAT changes, Ms Huq, who attended a private high school, said parents with 'genuine concerns' should not be demonised. Speaking in Westminster Hall, the MP for Ealing Central and Acton said: 'As a parent, I would never dream of going private, but I can understand and accept that people do do this.' She added: 'I can completely appreciate that people like my own parents at the time, make – and (Labour MP Alison Taylor) mentioned this as well – enormous sacrifices to send their children there. 'And I've heard this on the doorstep, you know 'we have the worst car, we never go on holiday', that was me in the 80s.' She continued: 'These are people who consider themselves working people, so again, the strap line of the Labour manifesto was no taxes on working people. So I think we should be careful with our rhetoric sometimes.' Ms Huq went on to say: 'The problem is the word private school implies a whole load of things, they are not all Eton. And some of the comms around this I think hasn't been done very sensitively.' Get a free fractional share worth up to £100. Capital at risk. Terms and conditions apply. 'You get your smaller Send school, you get your smaller faith school, those kind of people, they're not all Eton is what I'm trying to say, and I think some of these comms are based on a caricature.' Ms Huq said there could be 'unintended consequence' from the change and the policy will 'hand schools like Eton money back from Treasury coffers'. She added: 'These elitist private schools, Eton, they've actually done quite well out of this, because they can cash in on windfalls from these new VAT rules.' Intervening, Conservative MP for Windsor Jack Rankin, who has Eton in his constituency, said some of the points on Eton were 'a little bit unfair' because they 'do a lot in my community'. Ms Huq replied: 'It's interesting to learn that, but they are still are going to be quids-in after this.' Also intervening, Liberal Democrat MP Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) said: 'Will you give it up all this stuff about Eton? I speak as the mother of two old Etonians. 'I was a single parent, I worked three jobs. When (Damian Hinds) said there's more money from the old Etonian parents, there certainly aren't, not from this one. 'Eton hands out 100 boys plus a year completely free fees, they don't even have to pay for their pencils.' Earlier in the debate, Conservative former minister Damian Hinds said 'there is probably plenty of VAT to be had from the parents of boys at Eton' but the Government has 'ignored' the concerns of low-fee faith schools or schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Ms Huq later said: 'My worry is it will just make an elitist system more elitist.' Intervening, Conservative MP Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) said: 'What does she expect her Government and party to do then?' Ms Huq replied: 'What I would suggest is possibly doing it on a turnover basis. So for your enormous schools that can afford it: yes. But then for the smaller ones that have been caught in this trap: no.' Treasury minister Torsten Bell said: 'No one during this session is judging other parents' choices … the best education for children is also what motivates the Government to break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education. 'Every child includes the 94% of children that attend state schools. The reforms we debate today, to VAT and business rates, will raise around £1.8 billion a year.' Mr Bell said the argument that private faith schools should be exempt is 'not compelling'. He added: 'An exemption would reduce the revenue available for pupils in state schools, including those of faith.'
