Prince Philip once went to great lengths to ensure his teenage son Charles had a piece of home with him during his school days in Scotland.
Thirteen-year-old Charles began his secondary education at the independent boarding school Gordonstoun in Moray in 1962 and was there until 1967. While the young royal was living away from his family in England, Philip orchestrated a "strange" gesture so his son would be surrounded by "objects of English beauty".
According to author William Cash, Philip arranged for a 12th-century Norman font to be relocated from St Michael’s Church in the hamlet of Upton Cressett, which had closed in 1958, to his son's school abroad, where it remained in the chapel for several years. The historic font was a large barrel shape and covered in carvings on the exterior.
© Corbis via Getty Images"They went to see it, and Prince Philip apparently said [of the font], 'I think that would be really good if it was moved to Gordonstoun, because I want my son to be surrounded by ancient objects of English beauty'," the author, whose parents moved to the Upton Cressett estate in the 70s, recalled.
"I think Philip thought, 'What a waste to have it just sitting in a storage unit'. It’s quite large – how they got it up to Gordonstoun I really do not know."
He remarked: "This is a strange story that to this day most people don’t know about."
The font remained at Charles' school during his attendance but was later shipped back to St Michael’s Church in the 70s. William shared that visitors at the church "find it almost impossible to believe that this font has moved so many hundreds of miles for the King’s aesthetic benefit."
Charles' education
© Getty ImagesCharles followed in his father's footsteps when he began his secondary studies at Gordonstoun, where Philip attended for five years from 1934 to 1939. Philip was there to accompany his son to meet the headmaster Robert Chew on Charles' first day as a pupil at the Scottish school on 1 May 1962.
The school focused on practical and life skills over theory from books. Charles was said to not have had the easiest time there, reportedly being bullied from his first day there due to his royal lineage. However, the royal has downplayed the reports since.
He told the House of Lords in 1975: "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."
© UK Press via Getty Images"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."
Charles became the first heir apparent to be educated at a school as opposed to from a private tutor when he began his schooling. The royal started his studies at Hill House School, in Knightsbridge, in 1956. He wasn't there long, moving nine months later to another school his father went to: Cheam Preparatory School.
Charles enrolled in the school in 1957 and studied there up until 1962 before beginning his secondary schooling years in Scotland.
