Colditz in kilts? Charles loved it, says old school
THE Prince of Wales’s time at school is widely thought to have been far from happy – he was once reported to have described it as “Colditz in kilts”.
But his Scottish boarding school has hit back after Netflix drama The Crown depicted an unhappy, bullied Charles struggling with cross country runs and hostile classmates.
Gordonstoun School has begun publicising a speech the Prince made in the House of Lords, as well as an interview he gave, to suggest that he has a more nuanced view of his education than the drama suggests. Both took place in the Seventies, less than 20 years after he attended the school, and paint the Prince’s time at Gordonstoun, located in the north-east of Scotland, in a more positive light.
Episode nine of the drama’s second series chronicles the Prince’s experiences at the school, focusing on his shabby dormitory, unfriendly peers and freezing morning runs.
In the series, sensitive Charles is all set to go to Eton, following the wishes of his mother, the Queen, and her cousin Lord Mountbatten. But Prince Philip insists he attend his own alma mater because of the tougher environment he believes will benefit his son’s character.
Charles endures bullying from his fellow students and must sleep by a window that does not close properly, letting in rain.
He also struggles with the physical demands of the school, which include runs in the cold and wet, during which other boys slap him on the back of the head.
He fails to complete the school’s annual orienteering challenge and must be rescued, leaving him feeling humiliated.
Charles has since hinted at his unhappiness at the school with the infamous description “Colditz in kilts”, and has also reportedly described his time there as “a prison sentence”.
But the school is keen to set the record straight, and has unearthed the speech and interview in the hopes of providing “a more balanced view of Prince Charles’s time at Gordonstoun”.
In the speech, given in 1975 to launch his charity, the Prince’s Trust, he told the Lords: “I am always astonished by the amount of rot talked about Gordonstoun and the careless use of ancient clichés used to describe it.
“It was only tough in the sense that it demanded more of you as an individual than most other schools did – mentally or physically. I am lucky in that I believe it taught me a great deal about myself and my own abilities and disabilities.
“It taught me to accept challenges and take the initiative – why else do you think I am brave enough to stand up before your Lordships now?”
In the Observer Magazine interview, the Prince said: “I am glad I went to Gordonstoun. It wasn’t the toughness of the place – that’s all much exaggerated … it was the general character of the education there … an education which tried to balance the physical and mental with the emphasis on self-reliance to develop a rounded human being. I didn’t enjoy school as much as I might have, but that was only because I’m happier at home than anywhere else.”
He added that the “discipline” at the school gives “shape and form and tidiness” to life.
Gordonstoun was founded in 1934 by German educator Kurt Hahn, an exile from Nazi Germany, who believed education was key to creating a new generation of community leaders.
The Crown also suggests that Prince Philip’s earlier time there was far from smooth, depicting him fighting with fellow students and punching one in the face.