THE NOT-SO LITTLE PRINCE
MARION McMULLEN LOOKS AT THE EARLY YEARS OF PRINCE CHARLES AS THE NATION’S LONGEST SERVING HEIR TO THE THRONE TURNS 70
IT IS said the Duke of Edinburgh took one look at his new-born son and promptly announced that he looked like “a plum pudding”.
Charles Philip Arthur George was born at Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948, weighing 7lbs 6oz.
The then Princess Elizabeth was reportedly in labour for 30 hours before undergoing a Caesarean section to deliver the royal babe.
Prince Philip was not present for the birth but later arrived at the delivery room with a bouquet of red roses and carnations for his 22-yearold wife.
Charles was later baptised in the music room of Buckingham Palace on December 15 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher.
The young prince’s favourite toys included an elephant on wheels called Jumbo, a teddy bear and a toy rabbit and the eldest child of the royal couple became heir apparent when he was just three years old following the death of his grandfather King George VI. Charles now has the distinction of being the oldest heir to the throne for more than 300 years.
His sister Anne was born in 1950 followed by Andrew 10 years later in 1960 and Edward in 1964.
His early care was overseen by two Scottish nannies and a governess and he started as a day pupil at Hill House School in London in 1956 before becoming a boarder at Cheam School in Berkshire when he was eight.
Charles was just nine when he was created Prince of Wales on July 26, 1958 and he was formerly invested on July 11, 1969, at Caernarfon Castle. He wrote in a letter before the investiture: “As long as I do not take myself too seriously I should not be too badly off.”
Royal duties began early and a sailor-suit wearing Charles was six when he met the famous apes of Gibraltar during a royal visit in 1958.
He and his sister Anne also enjoyed a touch of animal magic with David Attenborough when they visited the BBC studios the same year.
Prince Charles notched up five O levels and two A levels in history and French, but reportedly once described his Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun – which had also been attended by his father – as “Colditz in kilts”.
He took trumpet lessons and later said: “I can hear the music teacher now. She would put down her violin and we would all stop and she would shout – she had a heavy German accent and somehow that made her more agonised – ‘Ach! Zose trupets. Ach! Zose trumpets. Stawp zoze trumpets’. So I gave up my trumpet.”
The 15-year-old also made the headlines when he was found in the lounge bar of the Crown Hotel Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, by his personal detective.
Charles did get to play Macbeth in the school production of the Shakespeare tragedy and has remained an enthusiastic supporter of the arts throughout his life.
Stephen Fry, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh were among those who took part in a 70th birthday gala for Charles at Buckingham Palace last month.
Stephen said: “Everyone who works in the field of arts in this country knows how extremely lucky we are that our Prince of Wales has such a genuine knowledge of, unquenchable thirst for, and understanding of the role and value of the arts in our public and personal lives.”
He spent time in 1966 as an exchange student at Timbertop in the Australian outback and also became the first heir to the throne to get a degree. He attended Cambridge in 1967 to read history, archaeology and anthropology at Trinity and graduated in 1970 with a 2:2 degree.
“The tables will now be turned and I will be envisaged as a princely swot!” he said.
His titles now include the Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Island and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
He is also patron of more than 400 organisations including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Television Society.
In the recent BBC documentary Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70, he says of his role: “You have to make of it what you feel is right.
“So, there’s nothing laid down, that’s what makes it so interesting, challenging and of course complicated.”