School Name History
Location
35410 McKee Rd, Abbotsford, BC
Opened
1984
The School
Prince Charles Elementary was built on land that was originally owned by Charles McKee (1879-1961). He was a doctor, farmer, and amateur horticulturist (expert in gardening). He got some rhododendron seeds from an expert who explored Asia looking for interesting plants. McKee planted those seeds in the thousands in greenhouses in Vancouver then brought some seedlings to his property in Abbotsford. Descendants of those rhododendrons can still be found in the neighbourhood. After his children inherited the land, his daughter sold six acres to the school board and his son sold acreage to the Ledgeview Golf Course. Most of the rest was eventually sold to developers.
The school opened in the fall of 1984. Fittingly for a school named after a member of the royal family, the lieutenant governor of BC attended the opening. Originally, the classrooms encircled an inner courtyard. One grade six/seven class used the area as a home for their potbellied pig, Hamlet. In 1994, the school was renovated. The courtyard was eliminated and four classrooms, a computer room, a library, an office area, and a multipurpose room were added.
Origin of the Name
In 1982, School Trustee Henry Teichrob proposed the name Prince Charles Elementary at a school board meeting, saying that it was suggested to him by someone in the community. Other names being considered were McKee Road Elementary and Ledgeview Elementary. Some trustees thought the name did not fit with the policy of choosing historical people of the country with a special emphasis on provincial and local individuals. Teichrob defended his choice. He said the board had already moved ¬¬¬¬ toward a broader point of view by naming a school after Terry Fox. He said that the royal family had been in the news lately and that the name represented “the history of the moment.” One trustee jokingly asked if there could soon be a Prince Andrew Elementary, but Teichrob replied that he didn’t think the names of the royal family would become a trend. After this discussion, the board approved the name Prince Charles Elementary. Shortly before the school opened, the board learned that they needed permission from Prince Charles to name a school after him. The board asked the Lieutenant Governor for help. He immediately contacted the London office of Prince Charles, and permission was granted just in time for opening day.
King Charles III (1948-)
Charles Philip Arthur George was born in 1948 to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. As the oldest son of the Queen of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Northern Ireland), he was given the title Prince of Wales at age ten. This title is given to the first in line to the British throne. He attended a private school in London that welcomed children from all over the world, then went to boarding school in Hampshire and other places. At Cambridge University, he studied archaeology, anthropology and history. He was the first in the royal family to graduate from university.
After graduation, in 1971, he began a military career in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. He qualified as a pilot and served with the Naval Air Squadron. For the last ten months of his active service, he commanded a minehunter. He left active service in 1977. When he became King, he became Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces.
While he was Prince of Wales, Charles performed official duties and attended events all over the world as a representative of the Queen. He made eighteen official visits to Canada. In 1998, he chose Canada for a private trip, a getaway for his sons William and Harry, who were grieving the death of their mother, Diana. They spent time skiing in Whistler, BC. During the seventieth year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, his only trip to a Commonwealth country to mark the occasion was to Canada. At that time, he praised Canada as a “truly great country.”
Throughout his life, Charles has sponsored many charitable causes, a good number of which reflect his interest in environmentalism, education, architecture, and art. He is a patron, president or member of over four hundred charities and organizations. He established the Prince’s Trust, which in Canada works to help youth find employment, help veterans develop businesses, and act on climate change. He is also the author or co-author of over twenty books including a children’s book. That book, The Old Man of Lochnagar, has been made into an animated film and a ballet. As well as an author, Charles is a watercolour artist. He mainly paints landscapes and one of his favourite subjects is the area around Balmoral castle, his mother’s home in Scotland.
Charles was the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history, having held that title for sixty-four years. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the longest-serving monarch, having reigned for seventy years. When she died in 2022, Charles became King of the United Kingdom.
The Abbotsford School District graciously acknowledges the Abbotsford Retired Teachers Association for collecting the histories and stories of our schools as part of their "What's in a name?" 50th-anniversary project.