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March 24, 2023King Charles III’s connections to further education
The coronation of King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is one of the most anticipated events of this year. The ceremony, which will take place on Saturday, 6 May 2023, at Westminster Abbey, will mark the formal recognition of Charles as the head of state and the Church of England, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 8 September 2022.
King Charles III, who ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on September 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, has a long and distinguished history of involvement with further education. He is not only the first monarch in British history to be educated in a school but also the first to hold a university degree. In this blog post, we will explore how King Charles III’s education shaped his views and actions on various issues related to further education.
King Charles III was born on November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace, London, as the eldest child of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He received his early education at home from private tutors, before attending Hill House School in Knightsbridge, London, for nine months in 1956-1957. He then moved to Cheam Preparatory School in Hampshire, where his father had also been a pupil, and stayed there until 1962. He then transferred to Gordonstoun School in Scotland, a boarding school founded by German educator Kurt Hahn, who emphasised character development and outdoor activities. King Charles III later described his time at Gordonstoun as “a very important part of my education”.
In 1966, King Charles III became the first heir to the British crown to attend university, when he enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied archaeology and anthropology for two years, before switching to history for his final year. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. During his time at Cambridge, he also spent a term at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he learned Welsh in preparation for his investiture as Prince of Wales on July 1, 1969. He also spent two terms as an exchange student at Geelong Grammar School in Australia, where he attended the Timbertop campus, a remote outpost that offered a rugged and challenging curriculum.
education is about drawing out from people what they have within them already
