Carole Middleton left 'in tears' as Michael branded James's £32k-a-year education a 'waste of money'

The father-of-one, who lives in Berkshire, was a boarder at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where his older sisters Kate and Pippa excelled in their studies.

When he was 18, James had to take a gap year to retake his Chemistry A-Level four times, which he says was a "humiliating record" for Marlborough College.

James recalled in his new memoir, Meet Ella, how his father Michael told him that his private education had been a "waste of money".

He wrote: "Meanwhile, I do so badly in my final school exams that my poor mum is reduced to tears.

"Dad says my expensive education has been ‘a waste of money’.

"After a year of resitting my A-levels, I scrape into Edinburgh University with the minimum permitted grades."

However, James has now told The Times: "Mum and Dad just wanted the best for me."

The outlet wrote: "Today Middleton studiously avoids criticising his school or his beloved parents — he learnt valuable survival skills at Marlborough, he tells me."

James wrote in his memoir about seeking an escape in nature and in dogs.

He said: "I was an outcast … alienated from my classmates. But dogs never judged me.

"Mum asked repeatedly if I wanted to bring friends home to stay at weekends. But truthfully all I wanted to do was to see Tilly."

Tilly was the family’s golden retriever, but from an early age, James was desperate for his own dog.

Carole and Michael, however, were desperate for their son to succeed.

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The father-of-one went on to Edinburgh University, choosing criminology, environmental studies and geography modules because he was @pretty certain they would all be multiple choice".

Unfortunately, he failed his first-year exams.

The Times continued to report: "More crying from Mum, more exasperation from Dad, more solace from a dog, this time his own."