Europe
By Ruby Mellen and Kenneth Dickerman | Sep 9, 2022
Heir to the throne since he was three, Charles is now king of Britain.
At 73, he is the oldest person named king in British history, and a familiar figure in Britain and the rest of the world for a long time. While Charles spent seven decades waiting for this moment, the world now awaits some glimpses into how he may reign.
A look at his life and upbringing indicates he may be more opinionated than his mother — and perhaps any monarch to come before him.
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Charles was born on Nov. 14, 1948 in Buckingham Palace. Bells tolled in Westminster Abbey and the Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park, for a royal prince was born.
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An undated photo shows Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth II with their two children, Prince Charles and his younger sister Princess Anne. (AFP/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family, including a young Prince Charles, wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace following her coronation in 1953. (AP)
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Charles was the first heir to be educated outside of the palace, attending a prep school in London and then Gordonstoun, a boarding school in Scotland that his father, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, also attended. Charles, who was less athletic and more sensitive than his father, described his time at the austere facilities as a “prison sentence.”
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Prince Charles stands in his academic robes as he arrives at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1967. (Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
While studying abroad from Cambridge at Aberystwyth University, Charles was named Prince of Wales, a title typically bestowed on Britain’s future kings. His time in Wales was met with frigidity from the local population.
“Every day I had to go down to the town where I went to these lectures, and most days there seemed to be a demonstration going on against me,” he said in a 2019 documentary.
Prince Charles is enthroned Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on July 1, 1969. (Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Getty Images)
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His coronation came amid a growing movement for Welsh independence. Charles gave a speech as prince partially in Welsh in a bid to honor the region’s identity.
“It is with a certain sense of pride and emotion that I have received these symbols of office, here in this magnificent fortress, where no one could fail to be stirred by its atmosphere of time-worn grandeur, nor where I myself could be unaware of the long history of Wales in its determination to remain individual and to guard its own particular heritage,” he said.
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Prince Charles skis at Isola, a resort north of Nice, France, in 1977. (AP)
Charles was in many ways a typical wealthy Brit — albeit one with a certain set of princely duties. He spent his time skiing, playing polo and donating to charity.
As he grew older, tabloids long obsessed with the lives of royals became bolder, photographing family members outside of formal events.
Prince Charles, right, is followed closely by a member of the opposing team during a polo match in Windsor, England, in 1965. (AP)
Prince Charles, then a member of the Royal Navy, receives a visit from his brother Prince Andrew in November 1976. (AP)
At 31, after a stint serving in the Royal Navy, he married Diana Spencer, 19. Diana’s warmth, beauty and sense of style made her the subject of adoration around the world. Paparazzi often tailed the princess wherever she went. Masses of people gathered to celebrate her on international trips.
The couple had two sons, William and Harry.
A carriage carries Prince Charles and Princess Diana following their wedding on July 29, 1981. (AP)
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles welcome home their newborn son, Prince William, on June 22, 1982. (John Redman/AP)
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But their marriage faltered, then failed after a 1993 separation. Charles gave an interview the next year in which he admitted he had not been faithful, and Diana followed that with a televised interview in which she said, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
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She was referring to her husband having resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, whom he dated before his wedding, and the couple divorced in 1996.
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles make a rare appearance together in 1993, the year they separated. (Martin Cleaver/AP)
Tragedy struck one year later when Diana was killed in a car crash in France. People mourned her death around the world.
After her separation from Charles, Diana took on an even more prominent role as a humanitarian. She campaigned against land mines in Bosnia and Cambodia, visited orphans in Brazil and advocated for treatment and destigmatization for people sick with AIDS.
Her funeral at Westminster Abbey was viewed by more than 34 million people worldwide.
Guardsmen escort the coffin of Princess Diana during her funeral on Sept. 6, 1997. (Wolfgang Rattay/AFP/Getty Images)
Prince Charles, right, with sons Prince Harry, second from right, and Prince William, stand with Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, during Princess Diana’s funeral. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Pool/AP)
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Charles and Camilla remained together, marrying in 2005 and taking a step back from public life as young and charismatic William and Harry moved into the limelight.
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Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, before the future king’s marriage to Diana. (Tim Graham/Getty Images)
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were married on April 9, 2005. (Chris Ison/AFP/Getty Images)
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As prince, Charles spoke out on issues important to him, advocating for action against human-caused climate change. Last year, he was a prominent speaker at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
As a wealthy yachter and private jet passenger, he also has one of the largest individual carbon footprints in Britain.
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Prince Charles visits Glasgow Central Station to view two alternative fuel green trains in November 2021. (Jane Barlow/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
On Friday, he was warmly welcomed by a large crowd as he arrived at Buckingham Palace for the first time with a new title: King Charles III.
“We love you, King Charles,” one woman said as he shook hands and waved at onlookers with Camilla by his side.
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Karla Adams and William Booth in London contributed to this report.
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Editing by Reem Akkad and Ann Gerhart.