Hardrada
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The young monarch was a shy teen, and his days at the school were plagued by traumatic and merciless bullying by the boys. Once after taking a shower, Charles was tied up and pushed into the laundry basket, where he was hung naked, blasted with the cold water—shivering in the cold until a staff member heard his voice.
I remember King Charles III—or Prince Charles, as he was then—arriving on his first day of school. He stepped out of a car and he was surrounded by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, the headmaster, the chairman of the governors and various other people. Charles was a small, 13-year-old boy in a gray suit with rather big ears, and he looked terrified.
I don't remember Charles saying anything during the tea. He was a silent little boy and he kept very much to himself.
Charles never complained. He never cried—or, at least, not to my knowledge. It's hard to tell how he felt at the time, as little boys are taught to be rather stoic. But he never reacted and he never punched back.
I felt sorry for him. I realized he was being badly bullied, and I didn't quite know what to do about it, but I liked the guy. I think all of his classmates did.
But you were bullied if you were even friendly with him, let alone a friend. You were called "the King's friends," and you would be harassed for that. Boys would make sucking noises, as a way of saying you were "sucking up" to Charles. So people were cautious about befriending him which, when I look back now as a father and a grandfather, breaks my heart.
But, in time, Charles did make a couple of friends, and they put up with the abuse that they got for being his friend.
King Charles' former classmate has claimed the way the royal was 'mercilessly bullied' at school will make him a 'kinder' monarch.
During Charles' early days at school, Mr Stonborough says it was 'impossible' to befriend the royal as bullies would jeer at them for being the 'king's friends'.
He explained: 'A couple of the boys decided it would be funny to “do” him. This meant punching him, pulling his ears, all out of sight in the scrum.
'He never said a word. He just got on with it. Never complain, never explain.'
What's more, Mr Stonborough speculated that Charles may not have wanted to speak up about the bullying as the school's motto was 'Plus est en vous', which translates as 'There is more in you than you think'.
When Charles attended the school it was not heated and its windows were left wide open even in the winter. His bed was next to a window and he often woke to find his bedding frozen with frost, Nigel Cawthorne revealed in 'War Of The Windsors: The Inside Story Of Charles, Andrew And The Rivalry That Has Defined The Royal Family'.
Every morning, even in the snow, King Charles had to endure a pre-dawn run followed by an icy shower. He also had to go through horrific bullying. In one incident, the 13-year-old King Charles was grabbed as he came out of the showers, tied up and bundled into a wicker laundry basket which was hung from a wall and blasted with freezing water.
He was left there for half an hour until a staff member heard his distressed cries, the book claims, adding that the monarch suffered regular beatings in the darkness of the dormitory at night and on the rugby pitch, where boys would boast that they had punched the future King of England.
King Charles also suffered a broken nose during one of these on-field assaults - but he did not complain out of fear that it would only make the bullying worse.
But his brother Prince Andrew had a very different experience at the school. One school master said, "If anyone tries to take the mickey out of him, he fights back. He’s just as good with the verbals as with his fists."
I remember King Charles III—or Prince Charles, as he was then—arriving on his first day of school. He stepped out of a car and he was surrounded by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, the headmaster, the chairman of the governors and various other people. Charles was a small, 13-year-old boy in a gray suit with rather big ears, and he looked terrified.
I don't remember Charles saying anything during the tea. He was a silent little boy and he kept very much to himself.
Charles never complained. He never cried—or, at least, not to my knowledge. It's hard to tell how he felt at the time, as little boys are taught to be rather stoic. But he never reacted and he never punched back.
I felt sorry for him. I realized he was being badly bullied, and I didn't quite know what to do about it, but I liked the guy. I think all of his classmates did.
But you were bullied if you were even friendly with him, let alone a friend. You were called "the King's friends," and you would be harassed for that. Boys would make sucking noises, as a way of saying you were "sucking up" to Charles. So people were cautious about befriending him which, when I look back now as a father and a grandfather, breaks my heart.
But, in time, Charles did make a couple of friends, and they put up with the abuse that they got for being his friend.
King Charles' former classmate has claimed the way the royal was 'mercilessly bullied' at school will make him a 'kinder' monarch.
During Charles' early days at school, Mr Stonborough says it was 'impossible' to befriend the royal as bullies would jeer at them for being the 'king's friends'.
He explained: 'A couple of the boys decided it would be funny to “do” him. This meant punching him, pulling his ears, all out of sight in the scrum.
'He never said a word. He just got on with it. Never complain, never explain.'
What's more, Mr Stonborough speculated that Charles may not have wanted to speak up about the bullying as the school's motto was 'Plus est en vous', which translates as 'There is more in you than you think'.
When Charles attended the school it was not heated and its windows were left wide open even in the winter. His bed was next to a window and he often woke to find his bedding frozen with frost, Nigel Cawthorne revealed in 'War Of The Windsors: The Inside Story Of Charles, Andrew And The Rivalry That Has Defined The Royal Family'.
Every morning, even in the snow, King Charles had to endure a pre-dawn run followed by an icy shower. He also had to go through horrific bullying. In one incident, the 13-year-old King Charles was grabbed as he came out of the showers, tied up and bundled into a wicker laundry basket which was hung from a wall and blasted with freezing water.
He was left there for half an hour until a staff member heard his distressed cries, the book claims, adding that the monarch suffered regular beatings in the darkness of the dormitory at night and on the rugby pitch, where boys would boast that they had punched the future King of England.
King Charles also suffered a broken nose during one of these on-field assaults - but he did not complain out of fear that it would only make the bullying worse.
But his brother Prince Andrew had a very different experience at the school. One school master said, "If anyone tries to take the mickey out of him, he fights back. He’s just as good with the verbals as with his fists."
