Kate Middleton’s 'horrific' school experience revealed by royal expert as the future queen was ‘bullied by mean girls’

Kate Middleton was reportedly “miserable" during her time at Downe House boarding school after becoming the target of bullying from "cliquey" girls. 

• Royal biographer Katie Nicholl has claimed that Kate Middleton’s time at her “cliquey” secondary school made her “miserable”. 
• Whilst Kate inspires royal fans across the world with her elegance, back then she was supposedly teased for being “gangly and lanky”. 
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes after it was revealed that Prince Charles is  ‘planning huge changes to royal residences’ when he becomes king (opens in new tab).

Kate Middleton might seem to have a fairytale life since she married Prince William (opens in new tab), but her time at school was apparently anything but magical. The Duchess of Cambridge is now an integral part of the Royal Family, sometimes known as The Firm (opens in new tab), and she and William celebrated their milestone 10th wedding anniversary (opens in new tab) last month. 

The couple met at the University of St Andrews and their relationship went from strength to strength. But Kate’s educational experience was not always so positive, as it’s been claimed she experienced types of bullying (opens in new tab) during her time at Downe House.

The girls’ boarding school in Berkshire may be prestigious, but Kate was apparently teased for being different. According to RSVP Live, royal biographer Katie Nicholl claimed: "Being especially slender and a head taller than her peers, she stood out for the wrong reasons and was teased for being gangly and lanky."

Whilst Emma Sayle, Kate's former classmate described the school as being “cliquey”, something Kate hated. 

"It is a very cliquey school and there was a lot of pressure," she said. "The girls were all high achievers, and there were lots of girls with eating disorders. Everyone wanted to be the best, the fittest, the prettiest. I think Kate was miserable from the start."

And this wasn’t the only shocking revelation, as it seems that the fact Kate started at Down House at 13 had a huge impact.

"It does make a difference going from eleven," another former Downe House student, Georgina Rylance, told the Sunday Times, according to Katie Nicholl. "You have two years of bonding, your first time away all together. Even some of the most popular girls in my school had a hard time when they came in at thirteen."

It’s been claimed that Kate was essentially told she was “too sensitive” and later moved to a different school. RSVP live reports that school headmistress Cameron responded: "Certainly, I have no knowledge of any serious bullying at all. But there's what everyone calls bullying, and there's actual, real, miserable bullying where someone had a dreadful time.

"That certainly didn't happen. Yes, there would be teasing. It's all a part of the normal competition of growing up, of establishing a pecking order.”

She later explained: "I think it's fair to say she was unsettled and not particularly happy. Maybe in Catherine's case she just kind of went quiet and didn't say anything."

Whether or not these revelations about Kate’s school years are indeed true, she has now very much moved on from those days. As a proud mum-of-three and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate consistently inspires royal fans with her devotion to her family and royal duties.