Ah, the first day of school. For some, it’s a day that resembles the very first taste of freedom away from mom and dad. And, for others…well, it’s just one big cryfest away from mom and dad! We’re not going to tell you which category we fell in, but let’s just say that it took us a few years to get completely comfortable with the idea of leaving home for 6 hours a day.

Recently, one of the most famous—and littlest! —royals experienced this exciting milestone for herself.

Princess Charlotte is just over 2 ½ years old, but she’s already officially enrolled in nursery school. The youngest child of Prince William and Duchess Kate attended her very first day at The Willcocks Nursery School near Kensington Palace on January 8th, with her mother by her side.

The school, which sits on the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church in London, caters to students ages 2 to 5 and, according to its website, focuses on prayer, singing, nature walks, and “understanding simple numbers with the minimum of pressure.”

The young princess is currently enrolled in Willcocks’ morning school, a 9-11:45 am, 5-day a week program that kicks off with 45 minutes of daily free play followed by show and tell and snack time. Boy, does that sound nice!

Before dropping Princess Charlotte off at Willcocks this past Monday, her mom was able to snag a couple of adorable “first day of school” pictures and post them to Kensington Palace’s Instagram. Here’s our favorite:

We can’t quite decide if Princess Charlotte takes after her mom or her dad, but we do know one thing—the kid is ADORABLE!

A new tradition in education for young royals

Over the years, we’ve schooled you on the Royal Family’s evolution, but the one thing that continues to surprise even us is the choices in education that Will and Kate are making for their children.

You see, their kids are obviously being sent to wonderful institutions—Prince George’s Thomas’s Battersea is supposed to superb—but the children’s schooling is much different than the rest of the Royal Family’s.

Up until Prince William and Prince Harry were born, almost all royals were educated via private tutor within the walls of Buckingham Palace, but the littlest members of the family are clearly being groomed to associate with commoners.

The Willcocks Nursery School comes at a relatively high cost, so Princess Charlotte is likely mingling with upper-crust kids there, but her brother is currently at a day school that is mainly attended by middle-class students. Before that, he was enrolled in a Montessori school in Norfolk that was attended by kids who needed public assistance.

Based off of their choices in schools, it’s obvious that Prince William and Duchess Kate are dead set on building a more relatable public appearance. Not a bad idea, if you ask us!

To learn even more about Princess Charlotte’s nursery school, including how much her royal folks are shelling out for her studies, be sure to watch the video below. Something tells us this little girl will ace free play!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on Princess Charlotte’s transition into nursery school. Were you surprised by the cost of her new school? Did your child have a recent first day of school? If so, how did it go?