Prince Philip and his son Prince Charles couldn’t be more different. The boisterous Duke had a budding naval career when he married the Queen and excelled at sport and outdoor endeavours. Prince Charles was a shy and sensitive child who spent the first years of his life being doted on by his nanny. While the structure of Royal Family life meant it wasn’t unusual for the children and Prince Philip to live fairly separate existences, the Duke made “a bad mistake” which meant he and Charles’ relationship remains distant to this day, according to one royal commentator.

Prince Philip was not an academic schoolchild but attended private schools Cheam and Gordonstaun.

The young Philip was one of the first-ever pupils at Gordonstoun, a Scottish boarding school founded by German education pioneer Kurt Hahn.

Mr Hahn believed strength of character was more important than academic flair and pupils at Gordonstoun were sent on early morning runs followed by invigorating cold showers.

Prince Philip’s role as the Queen’s husband meant that he lost the authority he had as a naval officer.

While the Duke had little input in state matters he was given full reign when it came to choosing how he and the Queen’s children’s were educated.

The Duke was determined that Charles follow in his footsteps and attend both Cheam and Gordonstoun.

However, his determination that Charles went to these hardy boarding schools, rather than Eton College, has since been deemed an error of judgement by some.

Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: “One of the main reasons for the distant relationship between the Duke of Edinburgh and Charles was the decision, made by the Duke, to send him firstly to Cheam and then to Gordonstoun.

“In Jonathan Dimbleby’s authorised biography of Charles, the Duke is quoted as writing ‘Children may be indulged at home, but school is expected to be a spartan and disciplined experience in the process of developing into self-controlled, considerate and independent adults’. This was a bad mistake.”

According to Mr Fitzwilliams, Philip’s limited role as The Duke of Edinburgh meant he was given power over his children’s education to keep him busy.

Mr Fitzwilliams said: “The Queen deferred to the duke in the matter of their children’s education as Prince Philip’s early years as Consort were not easy, especially for someone with his dynamic personality.

“It had been decided that the Queen and her children would take the family name of Windsor and he was denied access to government papers and felt frustrated.”

Prince Philip’s wish that Charles was the boisterous young boy he had been, led him to pick the wrong schools for his son.

Mr Fitzwilliams said: “He failed to recognise that Charles, a sensitive child, would not flourish in the schools where he himself had been in his element.

Later in life Prince Charles described his time at Gordonston as “hell on earth.”

Mr Fitzwilliams continued: “Though later the Prince would claim there had been a beneficial aspect to his schooling at Gordonstoun, at the time he viewed it as an incarceration, as he was mercilessly bullied.

“Eton, where the Queen Mother wanted him to go, would have been a far better choice.

“Later Andrew and Edward went to Gordonstoun with far happier results.”

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