Added Wednesday 21st February 2018 by (Return to Blog)

先週2月15日（木）、チャールズ皇太子がダラムを来訪されました。その際、帝京大ダラムキャンパスの今関校長夫妻は幸運にも、直接皇太子とお話しをすることができました。その興奮を校長自身の言葉でお伝えします。

I was not expecting this would happen, nor was my wife. We had been waiting outside Durham Cathedral approximately for thirty minutes near to the entrance to Palace Green Library for HRH The Prince of Wales to appear.

We were just hoping to catch a glimpse of him, since there were hundreds of people around us. Right after we recognised him coming, my wife Makiko suddenly said in a relatively loud voice, “Charles san” to get his attention. And in response to her shout, he started walking toward us. He finally stopped just in front of us and started to speak to her and then to me in a very friendly and jovial manner.

Our three-year experience of living in Durham has made us bold enough to hold out our hand and both of us shook hands with him without realising. If you watch the video, you can find out how excited we were. It was not a long conversation, it only lasted about fifteen seconds, but this experience became a once-in-a-lifetime memory for us. It was really a chance-encounter. We left Palace Green, feeling the friendliness and the warmth of HRH Prince Charles. (This video footage is credited to Miss Yuki Kato.)