Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Edward's Balmoral trip set to be cut short

The monarch has followed in the footsteps of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who would take up a yearly summer residence at the Aberdeenshire castle until October.

However, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's stay at Balmoral is set to be cut short this year.

James, Earl of Wessex, the only son of Edward and Sophie, is awaiting big news as he joins the Royal Family at Balmoral for their summer break.

The 16-year-old sat his GCSE exams earlier this year and will be collecting his results on Thursday, August 22.

James attends Radley College in Oxfordshire, a good eight-hour drive away from Balmoral Castle.

The youngest nephew of King Charles will almost certainly be joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh at Radley College as he collects his GCSE results.

Therefore, Edward and Sophie would be forced to cut their Balmoral trip short.

The duke and duchess have tried very hard to allow James as normal an upbringing as possible, given his heritage.

When asked in 2020 if her children had a "normal" childhood, Sophie told The Times: "What’s normal? They go to a regular school.

"They go to friends for sleepovers and parties. At weekends we do lots of dog walking and stay with friends.

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"I guess not everyone’s grandparents live in a castle, but where you are going is not the important part, or who they are.

"When they are with the Queen, she is their grandmother.

"We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living.

"Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely."