 Goulden was educated at King Edward VII School in Sheffield and at The Queen's College, Oxford, where he read History, taking the University History Prize in 1961 and graduating with first class honours in 1962.Joining the Diplomatic Service, Goulden studied Turkish at London University and served in Ankara from 1963–67.He spent three years as a Second Secretary on the Hungary/Romania/Czechoslovakia desk in the Foreign Office from 1967–69, before spending 18 months in Manila.