Nigerian Journal Sustainability Research

Two Royal Rabbit Holes: Prince Philip's Unruly School Days and Whether William and Kate Actually Share a Bed

2026-08-03
The School Report That Predicted a Complicated Man

A newly resurfaced school report from Prince Philip's time at Gordonstoun has given royal watchers a glimpse of the personality traits that would define him decades before he became the Duke of Edinburgh. Written by Kurt Hahn, the school's founder and headmaster, who opened Gordonstoun in 1934 and was considered experimental for his teaching methods at the time, the report paints Philip as a young man of striking contradictions: fiercely capable, widely respected, but prone to a temper that even his headmaster felt compelled to flag.

Hahn described Philip as a "born leader" who would need the demands of significant service to truly live up to his potential. His academic work, when he applied himself, was described as outstanding, though Hahn noted his second-best effort simply wasn't good enough, a line that suggests a young man capable of far more than he consistently delivered. Philip was ultimately made school captain, largely because he was universally liked and respected among his peers, and he went on to captain both the hockey and cricket teams.

But the report didn't shy away from his flaws. Hahn identified impulsiveness as Philip's central weakness, writing that the "lure of the moment" remained his danger, and adding that he could, at times, be too irritable. A related account of the report specifically ties that irritability to his conduct as a leader of games, suggesting his temper showed most clearly in competitive settings. Balancing that criticism, Hahn praised Philip's strong sense of service toward fellow pupils and highlighted his unusual courage and endurance as standout qualities.

Notably, Hahn's assessment of Philip only grew warmer with time. In a separate letter written after Philip's 1947 engagement to then-Princess Elizabeth, Hahn looked back on his former pupil with real affection, recalling that Philip arrived at Gordonstoun with what he called an undefeatable spirit, filling the school with laughter and displaying lively intelligence in his work. Hahn went so far as to call him the boy with the greatest sense of service of anyone at the school. Philip's time under Hahn had lasting influence beyond his own school years too: he later helped Hahn develop what would eventually become the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a youth achievement scheme that has since reached millions of young people worldwide.

Do William and Kate Actually Share a Bed?

Separately, royal watchers have long speculated about the sleeping arrangements of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the answer, as far as anyone outside the family can confirm, appears to be yes, at least some of the time. William has directly confirmed the couple shares a bed, and rather charmingly revealed they're often joined by their cocker spaniel, Orla. The detail emerged during a 2024 visit to Duchy College in Cornwall, where William told a member of the public, Louise Harland, that Orla sleeps in bed with him and Kate each night, a moment Harland later recounted publicly on local radio.

That said, the picture isn't entirely straightforward. It has also been reported that the couple maintained separate sleeping quarters at their former London residence, Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace, and it remains unclear whether that arrangement has continued since their move to Forest Lodge in Windsor, a property with eight bedrooms, giving them ample room to sleep apart if they choose.

A Royal Tradition of Separate Bedrooms

The Waleses' sleeping habits sit against a backdrop of a much older royal custom: separate bedrooms for married couples. The late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are widely believed to have slept in separate beds, and even separate rooms entirely, throughout much of their marriage, a detail also depicted in the Netflix series The Crown. According to Philip's cousin, Lady Pamela Hicks, this wasn't unusual for their generation or social class at all. Hicks explained in a 2012 biography of the Queen that separate bedrooms were simply standard practice among the British upper class, a way of avoiding disturbances like snoring or restless sleep from a partner.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are rumored to follow a similar pattern at their properties, reportedly maintaining three bedrooms between them, one each and one shared, though this arrangement has never been officially confirmed by the palace.

Why Separate Beds Aren't Necessarily a Red Flag

Relationship experts have pushed back on the assumption that separate sleeping arrangements signal trouble in a marriage. Jessica Alderson, a relationship expert and co-founder of the dating app So Synchd, has argued that sleeping apart can actually be a liberating choice for couples, allowing each partner to set their own preferences around temperature, bedding, and sleep routines, which in turn can improve sleep quality and ultimately benefit the relationship as a whole. There are also practical health considerations sometimes cited in favor of separate beds, including reduced risk of catching a partner's cold or flu, and less exposure to allergens like pet dander that can accumulate in shared bedding, a point of particular relevance given Kate's reported history with hay fever.

Whatever the truth of their current arrangement, William and Kate appear to represent a generational shift within the royal family, alongside couples like Harry and Meghan and Zara and Mike Tindall, toward more openly sharing a bed rather than adhering strictly to the more formal traditions of earlier royal generations.

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