CHARLES FINALLY BECOMES KING

Elizabeth II’S eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, has finally become king. But at 73, the focus of his reign will be his age – and the declining influence of the British monarchy around the world.

Charles has spent virtually his whole life as heir apparent and has become a familiar figure in his own right, even as he starts a new job at an age when most people have retired.

But in stark contrast to the neutrality his mother observed, he has at times courted controversy with strongly held views that have made him a more outspoken, divisive figure.

In keeping with the Latin maxim “Rex nunquam moritur”

– the king never dies – there is no interregnum and the accession is immediate.

There has been much speculation over the years about what name he will choose: Charles Philip Arthur George has four to pick from. although he is under no obligation to do so, he will likely become Charles III, making him the first king of that name to sit on the British throne since 1685.