Looking Back: Discrimination at school for being a 'Southpaw!'

And in the Royal Family, the Queen Mother, King Charles and Prince William are among them.

Yet at one time it may have been something that even the Royal Family tried to hide.

We often hear tales of bullying by children at school and directed towards other children. Bullied for being overweight, ginger, a swot, a Goth, Trans, or for wearing glasses. It’s something that schools are always on the lookout for in an attempt to deal with the perpetrators who single out anyone they perceive as being different.

But at one time, schools were as guilty as anyone when it came to a certain kind of bullying – directed at those children who were left-handed.

They were subjected to the most intense pressure to write with their right hand, which was thought of in the 1950s and 1960s, as being the correct one.

Children suffered torment when they were discriminated against, often caused problems through their lives with left-handed children suffering from more disorders like dyslexia or stuttering, than those right-handed. It was not unheard of for some teachers to tie a child’s left hand behind their backs.

The term southpaw was coined by sports reporter Finley Peter Dunne of the Chicago News in 1887, after observing left-handed baseballs pitchers throwing from the southside.

It seems left-handed people are more likely to be creative, artists, writers, musicians and actors. And born leaders. Creative southpaws include Leonardo da Vinci, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Brad Pitt, Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney. With world leaders including Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton, David Cameron, Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar.

However, many things are designed for right-handed people. Scissors, knives and tin openers are the wrong way round. A computer mouse can be tricky as can be buttons on coats and stringed instruments. Many things have to be ordered in a left-handed version, and there is an online shop for all things left-handed. Wonder if King Charles uses it?