Princess Charlotte to start at London nursery school in January

William and Kate, who is pregnant with her third child, will send the two-year-old to Willcocks Nursery School, located close to their Kensington Palace home.

A school spokesman said: “We are delighted that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen the Willcocks Nursery School for Princess Charlotte.

“We look forward to welcoming Charlotte to our nursery in January.”

The royal couple have also released a new family photograph of themselves and their children - which will feature on their Christmas card.

The photograph shows the duke with his son, Prince George, standing immediately in front of him, while Charlotte stands with her mother.

The image was taken at Kensington Palace earlier this year by Chris Jackson, royal photographer for Getty Images.

The school charges fees of £3,050 per term for children attending what it calls morning school for 32 youngsters, aged almost three to five years old, who are in class five days a week for three hours.

On its website, Willcocks says pupils experience “a fun and structured morning with lots of free play where children embark on the first stages of learning to read, write and to understand simple numbers with the minimum of pressure”.

Charlotte may be enrolled in the afternoon school, which has fees of £1,800 per term and is less structured than the morning session but provides a similar wide range of activities including art and music. It is tailored for younger children, aged two to three years old, and is run three days a week.

Willcocks was last inspected by Ofsted in 2012 when the nursery was rated as “outstanding”, with the report stating: “The educational programme is outstanding. Children actively participate in activities that relate to all areas of learning.

“Topic themes include outings in the local community and visitors to the nursery. This enables children to gain first-hand experiences that effectively consolidate their learning.”

The nursery was founded in 1964 by Diana Willcocks and has been at its current location in the church hall of Holy Trinity Church in Kensington since 1984.

The school is owned and run by headmistress Lavinia Taylor and her fellow teachers.