- 1952-2022: Prince of Wales
- 2022-Present: King of the United Kingdom
- Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor
Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor, Prince of Wales was born 14 November 1948 Buckingham Palace in Westminster, Greater London, England, United Kingdom to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1926-2022) . He married Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) 1 July 1981 St Paul's Cathedral in London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom. He married Camilla Rosemary Shand (1947) 1 April 2005 in Windsor Guildhall, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom.
Biography
Christening of Charles (centre, wearing the royal christening gown) in 1948: (from left to right) his grandfather King George VI; his mother, Princess Elizabeth, holding him; his father, Philip; and his grandmother Queen Elizabeth
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the fourteen other Commonwealth realms.[note 1]
Charles was born in Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, George VI, and was three years old when his mother, Elizabeth II, acceded to the throne in 1952, making him the heir apparent. He was created Prince of Wales in 1958 and his investiture was held in 1969. He was educated at Cheam School and Gordonstoun, and later spent six months at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer, with whom he has two sons: William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The couple divorced in 1996, after they had each engaged in well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-term partner, Camilla Parker Bowles.
As heir apparent, Charles undertook official duties and engagements on behalf of his mother. He founded the Prince's Trust in 1976, sponsors the Prince's Charities, and is a patron, president, or member of more than 800 other charities and organisations. He has advocated for the conservation of historic buildings and the importance of architecture in society. In that vein, he generated the experimental new town of Poundbury. An environmentalist, Charles supported organic farming and action to prevent climate change during his time as the manager of the Duchy of Cornwall estates, earning him awards and recognition as well as both praise and criticism over his opposition towards genetically modified food. He also supports homoeopathy and other alternative medicines. He has authored or co-authored 17 books.
Charles became king upon his mother's death on 8 September 2022. At the age of 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne, after having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history. His coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (1982) | 21 June 1982 Lindo Wing, St. Mary's Hospital, Greater London, England, United Kingdom | Catherine Elizabeth Middleton (1982) | |
| Henry Windsor (1984) | 15 September 1984 St. Mary's Hospital, London, England, United Kingdom | Rachel Meghan Markle (1981) | |
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Charles III of the United Kingdom (1948-) | 14 November 1948 Westminster, Greater London, England, United Kingdom | Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) Camilla Rosemary Shand (1947) | |
| Anne, Princess Royal (1950) | 15 August 1950 Clarence House, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom | Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (1948) Timothy James Hamilton Laurence (1955) | |
| Andrew, Duke of York (1960) | 19 February 1960 Belgian Suite, Buckingham Palace, London, England, United Kingdom | Sarah Margaret Ferguson (1959-) | |
| Edward, Earl of Wessex (1964) | 10 March 1964 Buckingham Palace, Greater London, England, United Kingdom | Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones (1965-) | |
See Also
Bibliography
- Brandreth, Gyles (2007). Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. Random House. ISBN 978-0-0994-9087-6. https://archive.org/details/charlescamillapo00bran.
- Dimbleby, Jonathan (1994). The Prince of Wales: A Biography. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-6881-2996-X. https://archive.org/details/princeofwalesbio00dimb.
- Holden, Anthony (1979). Prince Charles. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-593-02470-6. https://archive.org/details/princecharles0000unse.
- Junor, Penny (2005). The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-3123-5274-5. OCLC 59360110. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312352745.
- Lacey, Robert (2008). Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II. Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4391-0839-0.
- Smith, Sally Bedell (2000). Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess. Signet. ISBN 978-0-4512-0108-9. https://archive.org/details/dianainsearchofh00sall.
External Links
- wikipedia:en:Charles III
- Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor at thePeerage
- Charles III, Geni.com, https://www.geni.com/people/Charles-III-King-of-the-United-Kingdom/6000000003075030887, retrieved 01 May 2023
- The King at the Royal Family website
- King Charles III at the website of the Government of Canada
Ancestry Trees
- Charlemagne Family Ancestry
- Rurik Family Ancestry
- Rollo Family Ancestry
- Alfred the Great Family Ancestry - 50 generations of ancestors to Cerdic of Wessex (-534)
- House of Hanover
- Plantagenet Family Line
- Capetian dynasty
Contemporary Source Citations
Times of London: Childbirth
- November 15, 1948, in The Times:
- Title: "A SON TO THE PRINCESS ELIZABETH"
Buckingham Palace, Sunday. - Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth was safely delivered of a son at 9.14 p.m. to-night. The news was announced by a bulletin signed by Sir William Gilliatt, K.C.V.O., surgeon-gynaecologist to the King, and Sir Charles Wilson, Bart., K.C.V.O., physician to the King. The statement said that both the Princess and the child were doing well. The baby weighed 7 lb. 6 oz. A gun salute will be fired in Hyde Park tomorrow. The King has been informed and the Queen and other members of the Royal Family are at present at Buckingham Palace. The names of the child have not been announced. The Prince of Wales was born on June 23, 1894, and it was 12 days before his name was disclosed.
Times of London: Christening/ Naming of child
News story about the announcement of Prince Charles' official name, originally published on December 1, 1948, in The Times:
- Title: "NAMES OF ROYAL CHILD ANNOUNCED"
Buckingham Palace, Tuesday. - The Christian names of the infant son of the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were announced today as Charles Philip Arthur George. This announcement ends the suspense which has existed since the birth of the infant on November 14. The boy, who is third in line to the throne, was christened in Buckingham Palace on December 15, 1948. The Prince's godparents were his maternal grandfather, the Earl of Athlone; his uncle, Prince George of Greece; King Haakon VII of Norway; Princess Margaret; Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone; and the Hon. Mrs. Pamela Mountbatten, cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh. The Prince was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace, which was also used for the christening of his mother in 1926. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Geoffrey Fisher, officiated at the ceremony.
Royal Succession Charts
Charles III of the United Kingdom (1948-) Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg Born: 14 November 1948
| ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elizabeth II |
King of the United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu 8 September 2022 – present |
Incumbent Heir apparent: The Prince of Wales |
British royalty
| ||
| Vacant Title last held by Edward (VIII)
|
Prince of Wales 26 July 1958 – 8 September 2022 |
Succeeded by The Prince William |
| Duke of Cornwall Duke of Rothesay 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022 | ||
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by The Prince Philip |
Duke of Edinburgh 9 April 2021 – 8 September 2022 |
Merged with the Crown |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl Mountbatten of Burma |
President of the United World Colleges 1978–1995 |
Succeeded by The Queen of Jordan |
| Preceded by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother |
President of the Royal College of Music 1993–present |
Incumbent |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Duke of Gloucester |
Great Master of the Order of the Bath 10 June 1974 – 8 September 2022 |
Vacant |
| Preceded by Elizabeth II |
Head of the Commonwealth 8 September 2022 – present |
Incumbent |
| Order of precedence | ||
| First | Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom HM The King |
Succeeded by The Prince of Wales |
References
Footnotes (including sources)
Thurstan, Pmalish, Phlox, Rtol, MainTour, Elrondlair, Robin Patterson, Viliusr
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