A photograph of King Charles taken when he joined the University of Cambridge has been released for the first time. The picture was shared by Trinity College, where Charles studied for three years.
It was taken in October 1967 and shows the 18-year-old then-Prince of Wales behind a note that reads Wales HRH, The Prince of". The photograph is the size of a postage stamp and has been released ahead of his coronation next week.
It was preserved in Trinity College's archives for 56 years. It was taken inside the college's 17th-century Wren Library.
Trinity Fellow Professor Adrian Poole, a contemporary of Charles, said: “For virtually all of us, it was our first time in the Wren Library. We were overawed and a bit intimidated. Were we in the right place? So many books. Busts of Cicero and Marcus Aurelius. A statue of Byron.
“A prince more or less scarcely seemed out of place.”
King Charles studied archaeology and anthropology in his first year at university. He then read history for two years before graduating in 1970 with a 2.2.
The photograph was taken for his matriculation, which marks a student’s entry into the university, when they agree to observe the statutes and ordinances of the institution. The students are then admitted into their chosen college.
Along with the photograph, Charles also signed the college's admission book. His name is noted as “Charles, Philip, Arthur, George Prince of Wales” with his father’s name “Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh”, and present residence simply as “Buckingham Palace, London”.
