It seems more convenient here to abandon the strictly chronological arrangement, and to leave the Prince’s visit to Canada and the United States, which followed immediately, to be described in a separate chapter, passing on at once to his life at Cambridge.
Early in 1861 the King became an undergraduate member of Trinity College, Cambridge. Curiously enough, Dr. Whewell, at that time Master of Trinity, did not think it necessary to make a formal entry of the Royal undergraduate, but in 1883, when visiting Cambridge in order to enter his son, the late Duke of Clarence, as a student of Trinity, the King expressed the opinion that it was a pity that his own entry had not been properly filled up, and he offered to fill in the blank spaces if the book was brought to him. Accordingly the record may now be found at its proper place in the King’s own handwriting. His entry is as follows:—
| Date of Entry. January 18th, 1861. | Rank. Nobleman. | Name. Albert Edward Prince of Wales. |
| Father’s Christian Name. Albert. | Native Place. London. | County. Middlesex. |
| School. Private Tutor. | Age. November 9th, 1841. | Tutor. Admitted by order of the Seniority, Mr. Mathison being his tutor. |
The entry immediately preceding the King’s name is that of the Hon. J. W. Strutt (now Lord Rayleigh), in connection with which the following amusing story is told. A visitor to the library (where the book is kept) having expressed her doubts as to the King’s intellectual abilities, the librarian showed her the entry, and said: “You may be right in what you say, madam, but allow me to inform you that the Prince comes next to a former Senior Wrangler.” The lady’s astonishment may be imagined, she being of course ignorant that mere coincidence was the cause of the juxtaposition of the two names.
The position of the Prince of Wales in the University was very much that of an ordinary undergraduate, except in one point—that he was, by special favour, allowed to live with his governor, Colonel the Hon. Robert Bruce, about three miles away from Cambridge, in a little village called Madingley.
Charles Kingsley at the Prince Consort’s request gave some private lectures to the Prince of Wales. The class was formed of eleven undergraduates, and after the Prince settled at Madingley, he rode three times a week to Mr. Kingsley’s house, twice attending with the class, and once to go through a résumé of the week’s work alone; and, according to the great writer’s biographer, the tutor much appreciated the attention, courtesy, and intelligence of his Royal pupil, whose kindness to him then and in after-life made him not only the Prince’s loyal but his most attached servant.
The King in 1861
Photograph by Silvy
The King certainly enjoyed his life at Cambridge. All sorts of stories, perhaps more or less apocryphal, used to be told as to his University career. He was not allowed quite as much freedom as the ordinary undergraduate, and Colonel Bruce had strict orders never to allow him to make any long journeys unaccompanied. On one occasion the King made up his mind that he would like to pay an incognito visit to London, and he succeeded in evading the vigilance of those whose duty it was to attend him. His absence, however, was discovered before he could reach town, and to his surprise and mortification he was met at the terminus by the stationmaster and by two of the royal servants who had been sent from Buckingham Palace for that purpose.