Who is King Charles?

Prince Charles has become the King of England – and of New Zealand – following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles, 73, automatically became head of state of New Zealand and 15 other Commonwealth realms – including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

He is the oldest person to ever become the British monarch. The previous oldest was William IV, who was 64 when he became king in 1830.

Charles is best known for his 15-year marriage to the late Princess Diana and his charitable works, including passionate campaigning on climate change.

Born on November 14, 1948, Charles is the eldest of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s four children. He was three years old when his mother became Queen.

At age 9, his mother gave him the titles Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.

Charles was schooled in England and Scotland. In his early teens, he went on a student exchange to Melbourne, Australia.

He later studied archaeology, anthropology and history at the UK’s Cambridge University, then trained with the Royal Air Force before pursuing a naval career like his father.

Charles visited New Zealand for the first time in 1970 on his mother’s royal tour, returning twice in 1974, for the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch and Prime Minister Norman Kirk’s funeral.

In 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in what was dubbed the wedding of the century. They had two sons, princes William and Harry.

The couple brought 10-month-old Prince William to New Zealand in 1983.

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. She was killed in a car crash in the French capital the following year.

Charles remarried in 2005, to Camilla Parker Bowles, who became the Duchess of Cornwall. The couple visited New Zealand in 2012 and again in 2015.

Charles is the patron of the Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations that fundraise for charities helping young people, environmental causes, business and education groups.