The court released information today that Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus will change schools – starting after the summer.
Ingrid Alexandra will start in 5th grade at Oslo International School, whereas her brother will start in 3rd grade at the Montessori school in Oslo.
The court states that the reasoning is that Ingrid Alexandra is going to the International school to be more fluent in conversational English, as would befit her future role. They don’t mention anything about why Sverre Magnus is going to a different school.
They say that they have been very happy with the schooling they have had at their current school at Jansløkka. But that they have tried to make the choices that are right for their children.
The news is causing debate in Norwegian media. Part of the reasoning is that if the future head of state is withdrawing his children from the public school system, it must mean that he thinks that the system is not good enough.
Since the children of Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha returned from the United States after WWII, the children of the Crown Princely family have gone to public schools.
Republicans are also out in full force – with comments such as the royal family are removing themselves from the people, and becoming part of the shameless elite.
Märtha Louise and Ari Behn’s children were attending their local Steiner school before they moved to London, and presumably they will also return to that when they move back to Norway.
The decided lack of information about why they have chosen to move now, and why Sverre Magnus is going to a different school than his sister makes me consider that the decision might be more about how Sverre Magnus is fitting in at his school than the extreme need for Ingrid Alexandra to learn conversational English at a young age.
After all, Crown Prince Haakon and his sister had an English nanny growing up so they could learn the language better at a young age.
