The Prince of Wales has joked about his days as a schoolboy coastguard in Moray, when he wished an aircraft carrier would run aground so he could save everyone on board.
Speaking at an award ceremony recognising the achievements of members of uniformed youth organisations such as the Scouts and St John Ambulance, he said his time as a young volunteer was “very good” for him.
The Social Action Awards were organised by the umbrella organisation Youth United which, through its charitable arm, funds the creation of new volunteering places for youngsters in deprived and disadvantaged areas of the country.
The Prince, who is Youth United’s founder and patron, told guests at the Buckingham Palace ceremony: “Interestingly, I was a cadet myself years ago, dread to think it was in the 1960s I suppose, and I did rather enjoy my time as a cadet, very good for me it was I think.”
Speaking about his time at Gordonstoun school in Moray, Charles added: “And also, I then became a coastguard at the school I was at in Scotland.
“We actually had to do real-life coastguard work.”
He made his audience laugh when he said: “We had a coastguard lookout on the coast on the cliffs, and most of the time we spent hoping that some enormous aircraft carrier would run aground so that we could rescue the entire crew with what was then a very complicated set of breeches buoys.”
