Meeting Prince Charles
By Dr. David Olshine, ATS alum of 1980
A serendipitous moment happened on May 26. I met Prince Charles.
I teach at Columbia International University in South Carolina, and this past spring I was on a Sabbatical (study leave). My wife, son, and I were heading to enjoy the United Kingdom; teach for my friend and ATS alum, Steve Emory, at Cliff College; explore the small towns of England; and then sail to Croatia, Athens, Greece, and Ephesus. Following our first weekend in England and speaking at a British “Jesus festival “(like Ichthus with the rain), my wife, Rhonda (Weisman Olshine, 1982), wanted us to visit the Hatfield House, a country
house built in 1611. When we arrived, the sad news was given that the home was closed for the day but that we could walk around the property with its beautiful gardens, paths, and courtyard with shoppes, cafe’s, and pubs.
We noticed secret service all over the place so, being curious, I asked what was going on. We were told, “Prince Charles will be coming shortly to visit.” I then thought, “Wow, a chance to meet Prince Charles, he’s going to be thrilled to meet me (just teasing).”
Our short wait turned from thirty minutes to over an hour and a half. And then, to our gleeful surprise, enters Prince Charles and his entourage.
The Prince went into one of the shoppes, and then came out the other side of the store, by which my son, Andrew, and I were positioned to say hello. He looked at us, put his hand out towards mine, and we shook hands. (I was not sure if you were to touch royalty).
We spoke for less than a minute. He asked me who I was, where I was from, and how long we were going to be in the U.K. I explained that “I am from America, I am teaching in the Peak district, and then headed for a cruise on the Adriatic seas the following week.”
And yet I could not resist one last comment, so I piped in, “The real reason I came here to England was to meet you.” His response was priceless, “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” We both laughed, and that was my spontaneous meeting with Prince Charles.
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