Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Send Archie to a Very On-Brand Nursery School

We’ve all seen the photos of Prince William and Kate’s small children attending nursery school for the first time in London. Prince George wearing royally-mandated shorts and Princess Charlotte in a neat pinafore looked (appropriately) like they’d just leapt off the pages of A Little Princess. But Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s 2-year-old son Archie appears to be getting a much more California-style education. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly sending Archie to a nursery-school that teaches things like “emotional literacy,” mindfulness, and sustainability.  

Archie’s school is presumably less traditional than the exclusive Thomas's Battersea attended by his royal cousins across the pond, and, according to The Mirror, is even less by-the-book than nearby California PreKs where other celebrities commonly send their kids. 

William and Kate may be bucking tradition by not forcing Prince George to go to boarding school as they did (unless he wants to)—but the Cambridges have a long way to go before they reach Sussex-level royalty trailblazing.

It can’t be easy to keep life low-key when your parents are two of the most famous people on Planet Earth. But for the moment at least, 2-year-old Archie has been able to keep a low-profile at his California preschool. A parent at the school told The Mirror that none of the other kids even know (or care) that Archie is a member of the British royal family. “They don’t know his parents are royalty, and probably wouldn’t care—unless Meghan was a Disney princess,” the source said. 

The unnamed parent also noted that Meghan and Harry—as well as the other parents—have been laidback about the whole monarchy thing. “Harry often drops Archie off and picks him up, and seems like a good dad.”

Overall, Archie’s school seems very on-brand for the Sussexes, emphasizing compassion for one another as well as care for the environment. Apparently the classes also include gardens with fruit trees, butterflies, and hummingbirds for the kids to look after, and teach everything from Spanish to dance to coding. 

But whether the vibes are London Prep or California New Age, at least we can be assured that the tiniest royals are equally adorable.