It’s a huge day for students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland as they receive their GCSE results on Thursday 21 August.
It’s a big milestone for youngsters as their GCSE grades are important for their future educational and career opportunities.
School pupils used to be awarded A* to G grades, but the numerical grading system was first introduced in 2017.
Students are now awarded grades from one to nine, with a nine being the above equivalent to the old A* grade.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s children, Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and James, Earl of Wessex, 17, would have been the first British royals to be graded in the numerical system.
Lady Louise is now studying for an English degree at St Andrews, while James will enter his second year of A-Levels come September.
While Lady Louise and James are likely to carve out their own careers, some of the royals already have their futures mapped out for them.
Despite this, some of the King’s relatives have some impressive GCSE results, including the Prince of Wales.
Read on to find out more…
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© GettyKing Charles
At the time of his education in the 1960s, the then Prince of Wales studied for his O-Levels, passing six of his exams at Gordonstoun. The O-Level qualifications were replaced by the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), in 1986.
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© GettyPrincess Anne
The Princess Royal left Benenden School in Kent in 1968 with six O-Levels and two A-Levels. She then began to carry out full-time royal duties in 1969.
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© GettyPrince William
The future King left Eton College with an impressive 12 GCSEs and an ‘A’ in geography, a ‘C’ in biology and a ‘B’ in history of art in his A-Levels. He went on to gain a place at St Andrews, where he studied the history of art before later switching to a geography degree. The Fife-based university was where he met and fell in love with his future wife, Kate Middleton.
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© ShutterstockPrincess Kate
The future royal achieved 11 GCSEs at Marlborough College in Wiltshire before leaving with As in Maths and Art and a B in English in her A-Levels. Like William, Kate took a gap year before enrolling on the history of art course at St Andrews.
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© Pool/Tim Graham Picture LibraryPrince Harry
The Duke of Sussex enrolled at Sandhurst Military Academy after leaving Eton College, where he achieved 11 GCSEs and two A-Levels.
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© GettyPrincess Beatrice
The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York’s eldest daughter achieved two A*s, two As and five Bs in her GCSEs from St George’s School in Ascot in 2005, later earning an ‘A’ in Drama and ‘Bs’ in History and Film Studies in her A-Levels. Beatrice went on to study History and History of Ideas at Goldsmiths in London.
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© GettyPrincess Eugenie
In 2006, it was revealed that Prince Andrew and Sarah’s youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, scored two A*s, four As and three Bs after sitting her GCSEs at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. She went on to achieve As in Art and English Literature as well as a B in History of Art in her A-Levels and then studied English Literature and History of Art at Newcastle University.
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© GettyLady Louise Windsor
Prince Edward and Sophie’s daughter received her GCSE results in August 2020, but Buckingham Palace did not share Lady Louise’s grades, stating that they were a private matter. Her A-Level results in 2022 were also not disclosed but standard entry requirements to the University of St Andrews are AAA, where Lady Louise is now doing an English degree.
