King embraces school he once described as ‘absolute hell’

The King’s school days at Gordonstoun are often depicted as a punishing mix of compulsory early morning runs, icy showers and merciless teasing.

But for all of the tales of its tough environment, the remote Scottish school is also where the painfully shy heir to the throne nurtured a love of painting, Shakespeare and classical music.

Now, in an apparent nod to the five formative years he spent at Gordonstoun, the monarch has accepted a patronage to mark the first anniversary of his coronation.

The King has become patron of the Gordonstoun Association, a role previously held by his father, and fellow alumnus, Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Lisa Kerr, Gordonstoun’s principal, said the school was “honoured”.

“As our most prominent former student, His Majesty exemplifies so many of the qualities we seek to instil in our students, notably a lifelong commitment to service,” she said.

“That His Majesty has chosen a patronage of our alumni body is a great honour both for the school and all members of the Gordonstoun Association. We look forward to His Majesty’s engagement and support with the Association and its members in the years to come.”

The announcement marks the King’s first official link with the school near Elgin in Moray, which he attended from 1962 to 1967.

He has visited only four times since. But he has also sought to dispel the idea that he hated his time there, insisting that it helped him develop willpower and self-control.

“It wasn’t brutal,” he once told royal biographer Ingrid Seward. “Just basic.”

The decision to send the future King away to school was a notable departure from royal tradition. He was the first Prince of Wales not to be educated at home by private tutors.

Prince Philip, who was among Gordonstoun’s first pupils, was the driving force behind the move, confident that its harsh regime would toughen up his elder son. He overruled senior royals including the Queen Mother, who felt her “sensitive and creative” grandson was better suited to Eton.

On his first day, the young prince was flown to RAF Lossiemouth in a plane piloted by his father, before being driven to the school.

He left as head boy five years later with five O-levels and two A-levels to his name.

Extracts of letters he sent home, coupled with anecdotes from his contemporaries, paint a conflicting picture of the intervening years.

The King is said to have disliked his initial days at the school so much that he cried himself to sleep for several nights.

In one letter, he complained that he hardly got any sleep because his snoring prompted the others to throw pillows and slippers at his head, describing it as “absolute hell”.

He also struggled with the lack of hygiene amongst his fellow pupils, writing: “Goodness, they are horrid. I don’t know how anybody could be so foul.”

More than anything, the prince just wanted to blend into the background but the boys had other ideas. Provoking and taunting the future King was considered good sport.

Yet it was at Gordonstoun that the King developed a love of art, encouraged by his art master, Robert Waddell.

School records also show he took an active role in drama, with roles including Macbeth and the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

He played the trumpet, cello, sang in a madrigal choir and was a member of the debating society.

‘Colditz in kilts’

It is reputed that the monarch once described Gordonstoun as “Colditz in kilts”.

But while the phrase has become synonymous with his time there, its original source has never been identified.

“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 said in 1974.

In a speech to the House of Lords the following year, the then Prince of Wales spoke of “the amount of rot talked about Gordonstoun” and “the careless use of ancient clichés used to describe it”.

He has remained a supporter of his alma mater and last year, chose four pipers from the school to welcome him to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for the Honours of Scotland ceremony as part of his coronation celebrations.

In becoming patron of the Gordonstoun Association, he joins his sister, the Princess Royal, who is a “Warden”, as an official supporter of the school.

Although Princess Anne was not eligible to attend the then all-boys school, she did send both of her children, Peter Philips and Zara Tindall, there.

It is perhaps telling that the King opted not to send his own sons, Prince William and Prince Harry to the school.

Heather Woodward, Chairwoman of the Gordonstoun Association, said its aim was to promote and strengthen pupils’ links with each other and the school.

“There is no person more suited than the King to highlight the unique experience of what it means to be a former student of Gordonstoun and I am therefore delighted that His Majesty has accepted Patronage of the Gordonstoun Association,” she said.

“Although it’s almost sixty years since His Majesty attended Gordonstoun, his duty to service is an example of how the ethos and values of the school teaches students to think about others rather than themselves.

“We are looking forward to engaging with the King on his views on how we can further the aims of the Association.”