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Prince Christian and Princess Isabella of Denmark will be students at new schools after the summer. The Danish Royal House announced on Sunday, Aug. 7, that a decision about where Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik ’s eldest children will be attending school had been made.
“After the Crown Prince’s family’s deliberations during the summer, a decision has been made about the coming school year. In the new school year, HRH Prince Christian starts 2nd grade at Ordrup Gymnasium in Gentofte and HRH Princess Isabella starts 9th grade at Ingrid Jespersens Gymnasieskole in Copenhagen,” the Danish Royal House said.
The decision comes less than two months after the royal couple pulled Prince Christian, 16, out of Herlufsholm, which he began attending last year. Fifteen-year-old Isabella, who previously studied at Tranegårdskolen in Gentofte, was set to join her big brother at the private school in Næstved. The Local Denmark reported in June that Herlufsholm had “been the subject of extensive public criticism and scrutiny following a documentary by broadcaster TV2 which last month revealed a culture of bullying and abuse at the elite school.”
In a statement released on June 26, Mary and Frederik said, “It has been a difficult process for us as a family, but, based on the overall picture and our special position as Crown Prince Couple, we have chosen that Prince Christian will stop at Herlufsholm and that Princess Isabella will not start in 9th class at the school after the summer holiday.”
The couple admitted that they were “deeply shaken by the reports that have come out about Herlufsholm recently. We have also made it clear that, as parents of a child at the school, we expect that the school will do what it must do to rectify the unacceptable conditions.”
“The information in the just-released preliminary decision from the National Agency for Education and Quality directs a particularly harsh critique from a state authority against Herlufsholm and places demands on the school at several levels, not least the leadership level,” they added. “The question about our son Christian’s and our daughter Isabella’s choice of school has been very important for us, and the unfortunate matter has brought many and strong opinions into play in the public. That is completely understandable when it deals with the well-being of children and young people. At the same time, it has been important to stand by our basic idea that major decisions must be made on an informed basis. We now have that basis.”
At the time, the Crown Prince Couple said that during the summer they, together with their kids, would make a decision about their future schools. Mary and Frederik concluded their statement saying, “With thoughts about the many students who will continue at Herlufsholm, it is our hope that the school now gets more peace to ensure the necessary changes and succeeds in creating a culture in which all thrive and feel safe.”