Willem-Alexander the new Dutch King spent two years living in rainy Wales in the mid-1980s when he was a student at an international sixth-form college. His mum, Queen Beatrix, came to Atlantic College near Bridgend to drop her son off. Dutch TV crews were invited along to record the moment and were occasionally spotted afterwards lurking in bushes. The college, known as AC, is home to students from more than 90 countries. (There was a relatively big Dutch contingent; its slogan went: "If you're not Dutch, you're not much.")
AC has a strong idealistic ethos, with an emphasis on international understanding; most students are on scholarships. The campus boasts a Harry Potter-style medieval castle, a jousting field, and sweeping views of the Bristol Channel. Students study the International Baccalaureate. The teenage prince joined AC's student-crewed RNLI lifeboat service, which was sometimes called out for rescues; you had to sew your own wetsuit.
He was also a pretty decent squash player. A laidback figure, Willem had a reputation as a party-lover and a bit of a Romeo. He dated several female students from Latin America and nobody was very surprised when he later married an Argentinian woman. LH
Read more: 12 things you never knew about the Dutch royal family | World news | The Guardian
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