PRINCESS Diana may be best known for being a royal, but before marrying Prince Charles and becoming a part of the Palace, she spent her time working in a London nursery.
The Princess of Wales, who is mum to Prince William and Prince Harry, had a relatively normal life before becoming a royal and spent her time working as a nursery teacher and nanny.
Her last job before she became engaged to Charles, who she later wed in 1981, was at a nursery in Pimlico called Young England Kindergarten.
Originally Diana – who would have turned 60 on 1 July – wanted to become a ballerina, but later set her sights on teaching and worked as a nursery teacher’s assistant in the years before she became a full-time working royal.
When did Princess Diana work in a nursery?
In 1978, Diana returned to London from Switzerland, where she had been attending a finishing school, and took a number of low-paid jobs, including a playgroup pre-school assistant and as a nanny for an American family, the Robertsons, living in the city.
She then landed the role of a nursery teacher’s assistant at Young England Kindergarten and was working there when she first started dating Prince Charles in 1980 when she was 19 years old.
The pair married the following year in 1981 and officially a royal, Diana wasn’t allowed to keep a regular job.
Where is Young England Kindergarten?
Young England Kindergarten is based in St George’s Square in Pimlico, located in South West London.
The nursery references the time Diana worked there on its official website.
“Some may recall the name of this nursery as the place where Princess Diana was working when she was engaged to Prince Charles, but many know Young England Kindergarten (YEK) as the nursery that’s all on one level, the children play in the very large communal gardens next door and also have access to their own private outside space,” it reads.
What did Princess Diana say about working as a nursery school assistant?
Diana was quizzed about her love of teaching and asked why she went into the profession, her answer was simple – she really loved kids.
“I absolutely adore children, that’s really why… I just love children,” she says in old interview footage shared on YouTube.
Can children still go to Young England Kindergarten?
Young England Kindergaten is open today. It’s a private nursery school for children aged two to five-and-a-half years old and is still considered one of the most established in London, first opening in the 1960s.
The children that attend the nursery are likely to move on to top neighbouring schools like Kensington Prep and Hill House.
While the nursery has modernised over the years, it prides itself in incorporating “contemporary methods” into its learning while “maintaining” traditional values.
Those that attend the nursery can take part in a whole host of activities during their time there, including trips to the ballet and the theatre.
Young England Kindergarten was given an “outstanding” rating by Ofsted in 2018.
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