King Charles III Suffered Ear-Pulling, Punches In Boarding School As A Child

Nov 11, 2022 by apost team

With King Charles gearing up for his coronation in 2023, royal family watchers have been taking a look back at his life, which isn’t quite as rosy as one might believe. Despite garnering the nickname “pampered prince” in his early years, he faced a challenging time in school and was frequently the target of attacks by other students. 

The boy born to be king was delivered by the late Queen Elizabeth II on Nov. 14, 1948. Charles broke with tradition several times in his youth, attending school instead of being privately tutored, as was the norm. He also became the first royal to earn a university degree at Trinity College, Cambridge. He later joined the Royal Air Force. He acceded to the British throne upon his mother’s death on Sept. 8, 2022. But would he be accepted and loved by the public the same way Queen Elizabeth had been?

The signs appear to be positive, with an October 2022 YouGov poll ranking King Charles 5th among the most well-liked royals by the public with a 44% approval rating. His wife, Camilla, Queen Consort, also had a 44% rating. Support for Charles also grew a whopping 63% from 15% in March 2022, as those polled said they believed he would do a good job. A similar boost was seen for Camilla. 

Polling expert Gabriel Milland told The Guardian: “The figures showing a surge in support for him speaks to the strength of the institution, which clearly has a hold on people. There’s kind of a rally around the flag effect, which I think will endure.”

While he can count droves of admirers, friends and supporters now, it wasn’t always that way. Read on to find out more about the young Charles’ boarding school experience and how other children allegedly mistreated him.

In his 1994 biography of Charles, Jonathan Dimbleby described Elizabeth and Prince Philip as being physically and emotionally distant parents, adding Philip appeared to disregard Charles's sensitive nature when forcing him to attend the boarding school Gordonstoun, his alma mater, in Scotland from the age of 13. Charles himself admitted to his tormented time there, and once called it “Colditz in kilts.” 

Reports have now surfaced detailing what Charles endured while attending the school. In the ITV documentary “Charles: Our New King,” former schoolmates went on the record to recount what they had seen him experience. One of them, John Stonborough, revealed Charles was blamed for a tightening of school rules and students targeted him for this.

“One of the mistakes that was made when Charles arrived at Gordonstoun was that we were all told he was just to be treated like everybody else. But he wasn't everybody else, was he?” Stonborough said, as reported by Mirror.

"And when he came, they strengthened all of the rules and it became a stricter school and I think that some people took it out on him,” he added. Stonborough said he witnessed a student pulling Charles’s ear and another punching him during a rugby game.

“And there was a little bit of pride that somehow these people managed to clock the future King of England."

He said Charles “found it difficult to make friends, partly because people found it difficult to make friends with him because they got teased if they tried to be his friend.” He added in a more sympathetic manner: “he was the most remarkably stoic person. … He just put up with it, he got on with it – and I think that Gordonstoun probably put a little bit of steel in his backbone."

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Despite the harsh treatment, Charles appreciated his time at Gordonstoun, as he once said: “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.”

Charles will have the last laugh with his coronation next year. Since the royal palace announced it will take place on May 6, 2023, speculation on how it will proceed has gone into overdrive. Buckingham Palace assured the ceremony would be “rooted in longstanding traditions” and “reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future,” intensifying rumors Charles will make some substantial changes to better reflect a modern monarchy.

Among them will be the guest list. According to Mail Online, unlike Elizabeth’s 8,000-strong guest list, Charles will likely cut this down to about 2,000 guests and dignitaries. The dress code will also be relaxed, the publication added, with the possibility of lounge suits replacing ceremonial or coronation robes. Also, velvet-lined chairs used during the 1953 ceremony will likely be replaced with standard seating. A source close to the royal household told Mail Online all these changes make sense in this day and age, “The king has stripped back a lot of the coronation in recognition that the world has changed in the past 70 years.”

Camilla will also be crowned, although talk is rife “Consort” may be dropped from her current Queen Consort title ahead of the ceremony, depending on her popularity with the public.

It seems Charles has certainly put his boarding school days well behind him and is looking ahead to the coronation and the future of the monarchy.

Did you know King Charles had such a rough time in school as a child? How do you think he’s doing as king so far? Let us know and be sure to pass this on to family, friends and fans of the royals too.