The Duke's schooling began at Ludgrove preparatory school in Berkshire (where, more recently, Prince Harry was also a pupil). He later went on to Eton and then Le Rosey in Switzerland.

At Eton he enjoyed rowing and in Switzerland he captained his regimental ski team in the Army championships.

The Duke of Kent assumed his Royal role while still at school. Aged 16, he walked behind the coffin of his uncle, King George VI, at his State funeral. In 1953, he attended the Coronation of his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, paying homage after Prince Philip and Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.

After school he entered Sandhurst, where he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for foreign languages and qualified as an interpreter of French.