While Prince Charles attended the University of Cambridge back in 1967, the future King of England was naturally never seen without his bodyguard on hand to keep him safe. As such, there is a popular story that the royal's bodyguard was allowed to take the same exams as Charles after having sat in every one of his seminars and lectures, and walked away with a higher score than the Prince himself! According to the website Quora, the story has been passed "down the generations" at the University, but just how accurate is the urban legend?
According to the site, the security guard lived in college accommodation at Trinity College, and since the criteria of gaining a degree a University includes 'keeping term' in the limits of Cambridge during term dates and passing the examinations, the bodyguard was eligible to take the exams as he met the criteria. As such, the story goes that he was permitted to sit the exam and passed with a 2:1, while Charles was awarded a more modest 2:2.
Charles during his time at Cambridge
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However, the University of Cambridge's online magazine, Varsity, have debunked the myth, claiming that although Charles did have a bodyguard who stayed in a room at Trinity College and attended the same lectures as the Prince, he did not in fact take the exams, and so was unable to get the impressive mark. Prince Charles broke tradition as the first male royal to go to university after completing his A-levels, which consisted of a B in History and a C in French, instead of joining the British Armed Forces, as per tradition. During his time in higher education, the royal studied anthropology, history and archaeology. He also studied Welsh history and language for one term at the University College of Wales.
