In her biography all about Kate Middleton, titled Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert Katie Nicholl reveals the Duchess of Cambridge was "desperately unhappy" in secondary school (AKA high school). Kate was reportedly bullied when she was a student at Downe House. The teasing got so bad she ended up transferring to a different school.

When Kate was 13-years-old, she enrolled in Downe House as a day pupil rather than a boarder. As many of the other students had attended Downe since they were 11, Kate was the new kid. The vast majority of students were boarders, as well, while Kate opted to commute in every day and live at home. According to Nicholl's reporting, this left Kate as the odd girl out.

"It does make a difference going from eleven," Georgina Rylance, a formed Downe student, explained. "You have two years of bonding, your first time away all together. Even some of the most popular girls in my school had a hard time when they came in at thirteen."

Kate also missed out on prime bonding time with the other girls when she went home at night and on the weekends. "In boarding schools a lot of the boding takes place late at night, or at the weekends, going to the local sweetshop," Rylance added.

Nicholl also reports that Kate was singled out for her appearance, as well. "Being especially slender and a head taller than her peers, she stood out for the wrong reasons and was teased for being gangly and lanky," Nicholl writes in her book.

"It is a very cliquey school and there was a lot of pressure," Downe House alum Emma Sayle added. "The girls were all high achievers, and there were lots of girls with eating disorders. Everyone wanted to be the best, the fittest, the prettiest. I think Kate was miserable from the start."

Not only did Kate face difficulties socially at the school, but the sports selection also was not what she hoped. Kate was a talented field hockey player in her youth, however, Downe only offered lacrosse. "Even when it came to sports, where she should have excelled, Kate found she was out of her league," Nicholl wrote. "The predominant game at Downe House was lacrosse, which she had never played, and there was no hockey on the curriculum."

Ultimately, Kate decided to leave Downe House. She enrolled in Marlborough, where she remained for the rest of her secondary school years.

Photo: Getty

Jim Breuer