Norman font moved from Shropshire to King Charles’ Scottish school

Cash said the Duke decided the font should instead be moved to Gordonstoun after Charles enrolled there in 1962.

“I think Philip thought, ‘what a waste to have it just sitting in a storage unit’,” Cash said.

He added that he had no idea how the font had been transported more than 500 miles to the school.

“This is a strange story that to this day most people don’t know about,” he said, adding that visitors “find it almost impossible to believe that this font has moved so many hundreds of miles for the King’s aesthetic benefit”.

He added: “It always feels like something out of an Arthurian legend, like this was a font that was fit for a king.”

Although St Michael’s does not hold regular services, the font is occasionally used for baptisms. Cash said members of his own family had been baptised using it.

The church is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, of which Charles is a patron.

Steve Tarling, community officer at the trust, said local people had seen it as “an honour” that their font had accompanied the King to school and were grateful it had returned.