James Middleton with girlfriend Donna Air
James Middleton admits his parents didn't want him to drop out of university.
The brother of the Duchess of Cambridge attended Edinburgh University following his time at Marlborough College but decided to leave after the first year since he didn't feel it was right for him, even though his parents Carole and Michael had hoped he'd graduate.
He told the Evening Standard newspaper: "My parents were very keen for me to stay. I'd done resits during my year out because my initial grades weren't good enough, so they saw that I'd worked harder than hard to get there."
James - who co-founded Boomf, a service which offers to print Instagram photographs on to marshmallows - doesn't regret the choice he made and insists he can still succeed without a degree.
He added: "But as an adult it was my first big decision and I'm so pleased with it because it's given me confidence in decisions I've made since. There is a lot of pressure put on people to go to university, when actually, as long as you are driven about what you want to do, it's not the be all and end all."
James got a spaniel, Ella, after he dropped out to give him something to care and be responsible for.
He explained: "She [Ella] was my post-university responsibility. When I dropped out I needed something to help me focus, to get me up in the morning."