Charles, Prince of Wales, took a whirlwind tour around the Boston area and was honored at a formal dinner in Memorial Hall yesterday as part of his two-day stay to commemorate Harvard's 350th anniversary.
Today the Prince will deliver the keynote address at the first of three 350th convocations, attend a symposium on urban architecture, and meet with select alumni, faculty and students.
A capacity crowd of about 18,000 people will gather in Tercentenary Theater at 10 a.m. to hear the Prince, who was invited to Harvard as a graduate and a representative of Cambridge University in England, the alma mater of Harvard's founders.
The subject of the speech has yet to be disclosed, but Victor Chapman, Charles' press secretary said Tuesday that the Prince had written his speech last week and was now reworking it. "It's not unusual for the Prince of Wales to do this on a speech," Chapman said.
President Derek C. Bok and Chairman of the 350th Commission Francis H. Burr '35 and their spouses met Charles on the steps of Memorial Hall yesterday at 7:45 p.m. as he pulled up in a grey Rolls Royce. After the five filed into Memorial Hall, a bagpiper played as the remaining 400 or so dignitaries, prominent Harvard faculty and administrators entered the building.
Burr had welcomed the 37-year-old Prince to Boston Tuesday evening as he alightedfrom his British Aerospace four-engine jet at 6:10p.m. Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Mayor Raymond L.Flynn, and Sir Antony Acland, the Britishambassador to the U.S., also met the royal protegeat Logan.
Charles arrived bearing an 11-inch crystal bowlengraved with his and Harvard's coats of arms. Hewill present President Derek C. Bok with the bowlat a special luncheon in his honor today atWidener Library and receive a speciallycommissioned gift of Steuben crystal from theUniversity.
Princess Diana decided earlier this summer notto accompany her spouse to Cambridge on his firstofficial visit to the City of Boston. PrinceCharles, who is staying at the Ritz Carlton Hotelin Boston, is joined by a contingent of Britishand U.S. secret service who have provided for hissecurity by closing off roadways and controllingcrowds all over the city.
Earlier yesterday the heir apparent to theBritish throne visited a market mill in Lowell,Wang Laboratories, and the Harvard-affiliatedDana-Farber Cancer Institute where he met withchildren being treated at the center.
At Wang Laboratories Charles saw ademonstration of a machine which edits picturesand of another device that converts written textinto voice messages. "How do you get it to talkwith an American accent?" he asked.
After talking with mill workers in the middleof Lowell, Charles participated in a conference onyouth employment. Earlier yesterday, he spoke withmembers of Operation Raleigh, leadership andservice program which sends teenagers abroad onthree-month projects.
About 40 people waited in vain on the curb ofKirkland St. in back of Memorial Hall in anattempt to catch a glimpse of the Prince as hiscar pulled up to the 350th dinner there. Charlesexited from the grey Rolls Royce and was ushereddirectly onto the steps of the building.
The group of about 100 guests of the Britishconsulate that awaited the Prince's arrival inBoston Tuesday had much better luck. After Charlesdisembarked from his plane, he inspected the40-man Massachusetts Ceremonial Unit, which played"God Save the Queen" for him.
Charles then spoke with some of the peoplewaiting to greet him. He talked first with JoyceScolefield, a local resident, who held theofficial flag of Wales--a green and white bannerwith a red dragon emblazoned on it. A beemingScolefield, who drove down to Newport to purchasethe flag, said of her discussion with the Prince,"He just said that he was happy to be in Boston."
This trip marks the eighth time the Prince ofWales has visited the U.S. in the past 15 years.His last visit was to Texas in February for thatstate's 150th anniversary.
Convocation
Prince Charles will participate in theconvocation with David P. Gardner, president ofthe University of California system, Paul E. Gray,president of MIT, Benno C. Schmidt Jr., presidentof Yale University, and the Rt. Hon. Lord Adrian,vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge,England, who are slotted to give their greetingsto Harvard.
Several Harvard professors will give Latin,Greek and Hebrew salutations, and PlummerProfessor of Christian Morals the Rev. Peter J.Gomes will speak on Harvard's Puritan heritage.The chief marshal of the University, Richard M.Hunt, will then introduce the Prince.
After the convocation today, Bok will escortthe prince into a lunch in his honor in WidenerLibrary which alumni and faculty will attend. Atthe conclusion of the meal, the two will exchangegifts and toast one another's institution.
Following lunch, the Prince will attend thesymposium entitled "The Future of the City" andthen spend 20 minutes chatting with 49 selectundergraduate and graduate students at a tea inhis honor.
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