Prince Charles was my Pirate King ... and I was his rapturous maiden!
STANDING to attention in a soldier’s tunic, a young Prince Charles poses with cast members as the star of a school play.
Previously unseen pictures show the heir to the throne in a Gilbert & Sullivan production, staged while he was a pupil at Gordonstoun.
Released to mark 60 years since a 13year-old Charles started at the private school near Elgin, Moray, the picture shows the boys as Dragoons with local girls drafted in as Rapturous Maidens.
Among them was Alison Chambers from Elgin Academy, who twice performed with Charles. In The Pirates of Penzance in 1965, he played the Pirate King with Alison opposite him as Edith.
Last week, the schoolgirl – now 71-yearold Alison Stockley – relived her memories of a real life Prince Charming.
She said: ‘I held his hand as we had to do step routines. He was always kind, courteous and fun.’ She also remembered
‘I held his hand. He was always kind, courteous and fun’
Charles’s sense of humour, saying: ‘In Benjamin Britten’s St Nicolas they needed a gong to emphasise the crescendo and somebody was sent to hurriedly find one. Charles said, “I wish I had known – we have a beauty at home”. I thought that was very funny and I bet he did too.’
Mrs Stockley was one of several local girls who took part in plays and musical events with Gordonstoun boys – and she found the prince to be a talented performer.
‘Charles was excellent, he really was,’ said Mrs Stockley. ‘Gordonstoun boys were all held in a little bit of esteem by the local girls and the boys quite enjoyed the girls being involved. Charles was just normal. He was one of the boys.’ However, the prince’s royal status was emphasised when the Queen came to watch one performance.
Mrs Stockley said: ‘At one of the last rehearsals the orchestra was playing God Save The Queen. Someone joked to Charles, “Oh, they’re playing your tune” – and then we were told the Queen was coming to a private performance for her and friends of the school.’
Charles also sang in a choir in Elgin, alongside Mrs Stockley’s father. She said: ‘The school’s head of music ran the Moray Choral Union. My dad was a bass. Prince Charles was a bass. He was good, and a very, very good cellist too. A talented, talented gentleman.’
Prince Charles spent five years at Gordonstoun, reportedly dubbing it ‘Colditz in kilts’ after the German Second World War prison of war camp. However, he has always described it as a positive and enriching experience. School principal Lisa Kerr said: ‘We are incredibly proud of the way Gordonstoun shaped our future King.’