Prince William is headed to Cambridge to study agriculture

Prince William is going back to school and apparently looking to become one of Britain’s highest educated royals.

The second in line to the throne will be enrolling in a 10-week course in agricultural management at Cambridge University, Kensington Palace announced Monday.

William graduated with a degree in geography from the University of St. Andrews in 2005 and is reportedly taking the new course to help him run the Duchy of Cornwall, currently run by his father, Prince Charles, the Guardian newspaper reported.

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It’s been quite the year for the Duke of Cambridge: After welcoming son Prince George in July with his wife, Catherine, the former Kate Middleton, William announced in September that he would be leaving the military to become a full-time royal. In all, the duke completed 7 1/2 years of service to the Royal Armed Forces, where he served as a search and rescue pilot and was known as Flight Lieutenant Wales.

In early January, the 31-year-old prince will begin his executive education program in sustainability leadership, which includes seminars, lectures and meetings, the palace said. The course will continue through mid-March.

“The course has been designed to help provide The Duke with an understanding of contemporary issues affecting agricultural business and rural communities in the United Kingdom,” the statement said.

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The palace has described his upcoming year as a “transitional” one until he decides what royal duties he’ll specifically tackle. He is still considering various options in public service, the palace said, since he pledged to support the work of his grandmother, Britain’s current monarch Queen Elizabeth II, and the royal family through official engagements at home and abroad.

His philanthropic Royal Foundation with Catherine and his brother, Prince Harry, which was legally established in 2009, works to promote the welfare of the armed forces, youth and conservation. William’s Cambridge coursework appears to be most in line with the latter: The course is designed to help him run his estates, but will also take in wider agricultural issues, the Guardian said.

William will be in classes for about 20 hours a week and will be provided a dorm room if he chooses to stay the night at Cambridge, according to the New York Daily News. Perhaps it will also serve as a reprieve from the crying Prince George, especially when he has long nights of studying to do?

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Prince William, the first heir to the throne to obtain a university degree, is a patron to Cambridge’s sustainability program, and the cost of his course “would be met privately,” the Guardian reported, citing a palace spokesman.

The duke is “very much looking forward to” his studies, the spokesman told the newspaper.

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