James, Earl of Wessex, is following in his sister Lady Louise Windsor's footsteps by skipping a gap year and going straight to university after completing his A-levels. The 18-year-old royal is set to start at Royal Agricultural University to study Rural Land & Property Management after summer and this will require him leaving the family home, Bagshot Park.
At present, James resides with his father, Prince Edward and mother, Duchess Sophie at their jaw-dropping 120-room Surrey mansion. Undergraduates often spend their first year living at university halls before finding their feet to source alternative accommodation. If so, James could be in for a stark realisation as he trades a royal residence for a humble student space.
© UK Press via Getty ImagesOn-campus living
The university has a range of options for its on-campus accommodation, including catering options so students can have meals made for them. Prices are up to £273 a week for half-board options. The website explains the various options: "The bedrooms are a mixture of standard rooms with shared bathroom facilities and en-suite rooms, and we offer quiet bedrooms for students who prefer a more tranquil environment."
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, they said: "Having achieved the grades he needed, The Earl of Wessex will be going to the Royal Agricultural University to study Rural Land & Property Management. He will head straight there without taking a year out."
On the university website, the course is described in summary. It reads: "This course offers proven routes to rewarding careers within rural business, estate management, consultancy and property in the countryside. Strutt and Parker, Dalcour Maclaren, Savills and Fisher German are some of the nationally recognised businesses our graduates have gone on to work for – and so could you,"
Life in Cirencester
© Getty ImagesHELLO!'s Deputy Beauty and Lifestyle Editor, Melanie Macleod, grew up in Cirencester, where the university is located and she's shared her views about how James will fit right into the "upmarket vibe". She said: "While many of us would have loved to live in a royal mansion during our university years, it's understandable that James wants to spread his wings and move into student accommodation, and where better for him to do that than in Cirencester?
"The town has the same upmarket vibe he'll be used to in Surrey, with the added bonus of Cotswold charm. Plus, if his student digs get a bit too grimy (even royals aren't immune to letting cleaning slide, I'm sure), he's only a 20-minute drive from King Charles' Highgrove home, so he can easily visit his uncle."
