Prince Congratulated

Press, Issue 32333, 26 June 1970, Page 13

Prince Congratulated

WZ. Press Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, June 25. A young economics graduate, Miss Dharani Rethnam, was one of the first to congratulate Prince Charles on gaining an honours degree in history from Cambridge University. The Prince chatted to Miss Dharani, who came to London from India two years ago. when he visited the Commonwealth Secretariat. “I think he is charming,” Miss Dharani said later. “He asked me if i was married, and when 1 said no, he replied, ‘Well, it certainly won’t be long’.” Miss Dharani said that she

thought the Prince’s degree greatly enhanced his appeal, and took his photograph as “a reminder of a great occasion.” Prince Charles, the first heir to the Throne to gain a university degree, did so after three years as an undergraduate at Trinity College, where his stage appearances in university revues attracted more attention than his academic progress. The Prince has read history, archaeology and anthropology, concentrating on modern British history, the history of political thought, and the extension of Europe. In particular, he has had to deal with the theory of imperialism and nationalism in the modern world. Lord Butler, the Master of Trinity College, after telephoning his congratulations to Buckingham Palace com-

mented: “We are all delighted with the result. The Prince has had many distractions, including the physical and emotional strain of his investiture in Wales, and his tour of Australia, New Zealand and Japan. “He returned to Cambridge only in April, a month before his examinations.” To any suggestion that the examiners might have been lenient in their marking Lord

Butler had this simple answer: “The history examination at Cambridge is marked by numbers, with no names on the papers, and. the examiners thus have no idea whose papers they are marking.” The Prince’s tutor, Dr D. H. Marian, said: “I think it is a good thing for the country to be able to see that the heir to the Throne is able to start and finish an extremely difficult task like this.”