Cumberbatch was born on 19 July 1976 at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith, London, to actors Timothy Carlton (real name Timothy Carlton Congdon Cumberbatch) and Wanda Ventham. He grew up in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. His great-grandfather, Henry Arnold Cumberbatch CMG, was the consul general of Queen Victoria in Turkey. His grandfather, Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, was a decorated submarine officer of both World Wars, and a prominent figure of London high society. Cumberbatch attended boarding schools from the age of eight. He was educated at Brambletye School in West Sussex and was an arts scholar at Harrow School. He was a member of The Rattigan Society, Harrow's principal club for the dramatic arts which was named after Old Harrovian and playwright Sir Terence Rattigan.[9] He was involved in numerous Shakespearean works at school and made his acting debut as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in A Midsummer Night's Dream when he was 12. Cumberbatch's drama teacher, Martin Tyrell, called him "the best schoolboy actor" he had ever worked with. He was also part of the rugby team, and painted oil canvasses while at Harrow. After leaving Harrow, he took a gap year to volunteer as an English teacher at a Tibetan monastery in Darjeeling, India. He then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied Drama. He continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art graduating with an MA in Classical Acting.