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LONDON (AP) — king charles iii Not even crowned yet, but his name is already etched on the wall at Hill House School in London.
A wooden board inside the front door records 7 November 1956, the day the future King attended Hill House, along with other important dates in the school’s 72-year history. There’s a picture of staff welcoming the then-Prince Charles on his first day of school, and a photo of a seven-year-old boy on his excursion back to Buckingham Palace in a Ford Zephyr with his bodyguards.
To say Hill House is proud of its royal connections as Charles prepares for his coronation on May 6 would be an understatement.
“It’s so funny to think that the King went to our school,” said 11-year-old Lola Stewart. So exciting.”
Charles, the first British monarch to be educated outside palace walls, began his schooling at Hill House, although he stayed there less than a year before transferring to an elite boarding school in rural west London Cheam. Hill House is a family-run primary school in London’s trendy Knightsbridge neighbourhood, a stone’s throw from luxury department store Harrods and a short drive from Buckingham Palace.
But the future king was treated like everyone else, wearing a school uniform and a shiny gold sweater, and crossing the street without bodyguards to a nearby sports field, even though the headmaster’s wife was nearby.
Luckily, anonymously, Charles flourished, said Richard Townend, the son of the school’s founder who attended Hill House at the same time, though he was a few years older than him. The school focused – and still does – on providing students with a wide range of sports, arts, music and drama experiences, as well as more academic pursuits.
Townend said Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, took a “leap of faith” when they enrolled Charles at Hill House College, as royal children had been educated by tutors until then.
“My father was summoned to Buckingham Palace to have tea with the Queen. So, of course, he went to the Queen and, as far as I know, she questioned him,” he said. “In the end she said, ‘I think this is the right school for Charles.’ Simple as that.”
But why Hill House?
“I think it’s just the general eccentricity of the place,” said Townend, whose family still runs the school, which costs a whopping £19,800 ($24,575) a year.
Housed in a three-storey red brick building, the main school is a living monument to the British independent school tradition – Harry Potter without robes and brooms.
The walls are covered with huge wooden plaques bearing the names of the headmistresses and competition winners. Old wooden skis and rowing oars form the door to the music room. An Olympic flag hangs over the entrance, a memento of Townend’s father’s work on the London 1948 Olympics.
All students learn to swim. Emphasis on music and art. French courses start in the first year of school, called Reception.
Townend’s father – known throughout the school as Colonel Townend – founded Hill House in 1951 to provide English language education to the children of London’s emerging international community. Townend said that after serving in the military during World War II, he believed bringing children from many countries together at a young age was the path to peace.
“It was his great passion,” he said. “He wants to have an international school where all the kids mix together and understand that kids are different but basically the same, that they’re all alike, to build a more peaceful world.”
But it’s also an unapologetic English school.
Children shouted out when the school choir, which included children from Azerbaijan, Japan and Finland, as well as the United Kingdom, was asked to sing the patriotic hymn “Jerusalem.” They don’t need tables with text written on them.
“Whether those feet walked on the green hills of England in ancient times and were seen by the holy Lamb of God in the pleasant pastures of England,” they sang gleefully.
Townend himself looked shocked when asked whether Britain, a multicultural, multiethnic country of 67 million people, still needs a monarchy in the 21st century.
“Of course,” he said. “Can you imagine if we had a president like you did recently in the United States or some other country? No. You need a figurehead who is above politics and who is the focus of all kinds of enthusiasm.”
The children are also anxiously awaiting the coronation – especially the big moment when the crown is placed on Charles’ head.
James Harris, 13, said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing all the people coming together – people all over the country celebrating, watching or watching … and seeing the country come together for such an important event. Unite.” An important symbol of our country.
Follow AP’s coverage of King Charles III https://apnews.com/hub/king-charles-iii
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