Royal Family Series - King Charles lll - Coronation Special
The making of a King THE BIRTH OF A KING
As the longest-serving heir apparent, Charles has led a varied life, well preparing him for his role as King
On 14 November 1948 at 9.14pm, the first child of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip Duke of Edinburgh was born. Named Charles Philip Arthur George, the newborn son, and eventual King of England was christened on 15 December 1948 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, which was also his birthplace.
Charles was born during the reign of his grandfather, King George VI, who died on 6 February 1952 aged 56. Upon his death, Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II, making Prince Charles heir apparent at the age of three years old.
As the monarch’s eldest son, Prince Charles automatically took on the traditional titles of The Duke of Cornwall under a charter of King Edward III in 1337; and, in the Scottish peerage, of Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. In 1958, Charles was made Prince of Wales, although his investiture ceremony wasn’t held until 1969.
Educating a future King
Prince Charles’ earliest education began at the age of five and was overseen by his governess Catherine Peebles. However, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh decided that Prince Charles should attend school rather than being educated at home, as had been custom for members of the Royal Family. On 7 November 1956, he started at Hill House school in West London for 10 months, before boarding at Cheam School, a preparatory school in Berkshire. Charles was the first heir apparent to attend school rather than receive an education by a private tutor.
In April 1962, he began his first term at Gordonstoun, in Scotland, which is where his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, had also attended. Charles once famously described his time at Gordonstoun as ‘Colditz in kilts’ due to its rigorous curriculum and the bullying he reportedly suffered there.
In 1966, the Prince of Wales spent six months at the Timbertop campus of the Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, which he has described as ‘by far the best part’ of his schooling. During this time, he would have been free from royal duties and allowed to fully experience and immerse himself in the activities the school is famed for, such as cross country runs, weekend hikes, and wood chopping. When he returned to Gordonstoun for his final year, The Prince of Wales was appointed school guardian (head boy). When he left school in 1967, the Prince had passed six O Levels, and was awarded a grade B in History and a C in French A-Levels.
Prince Charles in the arms of his mother Princess Elizabeth during his baptism, in December 1948 in London, United Kingdom
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This portrait was taken in the library at Balmoral Castle to celebrate the 18th birthday of Prince Charles on 14 November 1966. He is wearing the Balmoral tartan
Breaking tradition
After his A-Levels, Charles went to Cambridge University in 1967, rather than joining the armed forces, breaking another royal tradition. He read archaeology and anthropology at Trinity College, and changed to history for the second part of his degree. During his second year, he attended the University of Wales to study Welsh language and history for a term. He graduated on 23 June 1970 with a 2:2 Batchelor of Arts, becoming the first British heir apparent to earn a degree.
Although he had chosen to work towards a university degree after school rather than immediately embark on a military career, he always knew he would follow this path after graduation.
His early 20s shaped the man our future King would become. By this time, he was taking on more royal duties and tours while also enjoying hobbies in his downtime. We can also see glimpses of the philanthropist emerging, in 1976 he took the decision to found The Prince’s Trust, dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK.
The investiture of the Prince of Wales
Although the title of Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester was given to Charles on 26 July 1958, his investiture didn’t take place until 1 July 1969. The traditional ceremony was televised and became one of the most anticipated and celebrated occasions since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It was watched by 19 million people in the UK, with street parties held across the country, and 500 million people around the world also watched it on the television.
The ceremony itself was held at Caernarfon Castle with 4,000 guests present to witness Queen Elizabeth II giving Charles the sword, coronet, ring, rod, and mantle that symbolised him being the Prince of Wales. Charles repeated the Oath: ‘I, Charles, Prince of Wales, do become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship and faith and truth I will bear unto thee to live and die against all manner of folks.’
However, the event itself almost didn’t take place, due to a bomb attack organised by the Mudiad Amddiffym Cymru (MAC) extremist group. On the eve of the ceremony, one device went off prematurely, killing two MAC members in the process. This was one of four bombs that were planted in order to disrupt the investiture. Prime Minister Harold Wilson almost cancelled the ceremony.
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Military career
Charles began his miliary career on 8 March 1971 with the Royal Air Force where he began his jet pilot training at RAF Cranwell. Knowing that he would take this military path after his university education, he had already gained his private pilot’s license during his second year at Cambridge under instruction from the RAF, which he had requested. This meant that he was able to fly himself to Cranwell to begin his four-month training course.
Following his passing out parade and being presented with his wings in August 1971, Charles went on to Dartmouth to complete the six-week course at the Royal Naval College, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and two of his great-grandfathers. His active service began on the guided-missile destroyer HMS Norfolk (1971–1972) and the frigates HMS Minerva (1972–1973) and HMS Jupiter (1974).
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In 1974, Charles qualified as a helicopter pilot at RNAS Yeovilton and joined 845 Naval Air Squadron, which operated from HMS Hermes. The Prince gave up flying after a crash landing in 1994. No one was hurt, but the crew was found negligent by a board of inquiry. Charles was absolved of any wrongdoing as he was a passenger who had been invited to fly the aircraft.
On 9 February 1976, Charles took command of his own ship, the minehunter HMS Bronington, after finishing a lieutenant’s course at the Royal Naval College Greenwich. Charles remained at this post for 10 months but this was to be the end of his active service. Later that year, he established the Prince’s Trust to support disadvantaged youth. He used the £7,400 severance pay from the Royal Navy to establish the charity.
Although Charles had left active service, he took part in a parachute training course at RAF Brize Norton in 1978, after being appointed colonel-inchief of the Parachute Regiment a year earlier.
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Early love life
In the late 1970s, the media began describing Prince Charles as the world’s most eligible bachelor and, as a result, with the world watching his every move, he was linked to a number of women.
His great-uncle Lord Mountbatten famously bestowed upon him: ‘In a case like yours, the man should sow his wild oats and have as many affairs as he can before settling down, but for a wife he should choose a suitable, attractive and sweet-charactered girl before she has met anyone else she might fall for... It is disturbing for women to have experiences if they have to remain on a pedestal after marriage.’ During his quest to find a suitable wife, Charles had a string of girlfriends including Georgiana Russell, who was the daughter of the British ambassador to Spain, Sir John Russell, and Lady Jane Wellesley, the daughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington.
Charles’ first serious relationship was with Camilla Shand, now Queen Consort. The pair met at a polo match in 1970, which saw the beginning of their on and off love story that spanned the next five decades. Although they seemed to be in love, Charles’ service with the Royal Navy began in 1972, which separated the couple. Upon his return, just eight months later, Camilla was engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles and Charles was forced to turn his attentions elsewhere. However, they remained close friends and their love for one another clearly remained.
Charles and Diana
Charles had given himself a deadline to marry by the time he was 30, which led to plenty of speculation during his dating days. In 1980, Charles began courting Lady Diana Spencer, who would accompany him on visits to Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House.
The majority of their courtship was reportedly conducted over the phone and the couple reportedly only met 13 times before Charles proposed and they announced their engagement in February 1981, despite the fact that they had seemingly little in common, possibly due to the age gap – he was 32 and she was 19. On the announcement of their engagement, the couple were asked if they were in love, to which Diana replied: ‘of course,’ where Charles, now famously, said: ‘whatever in love means’. She admitted in later interviews that this comment had left her feeling hurt and confused.
Just six months later, on 29 July, the couple married in a ceremony held in St Paul’s Cathedral, which as hailed ‘the wedding of the century’. They had more than 3,000 guests and 750 million people tuned in to the television broadcast to watch the historic occasion of a British citizen marrying an heir to the throne, a spectacle that hadn’t happened for 300 years. Diana wore a fairy tale wedding dress with a 25-foot train, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
One of the most famous moments of the day occurred on the balcony at Buckingham Palace when the newlywed couple shared a public kiss, a royal first that the Queen had granted permission for.
After their marriage, the couple lived in apartments 8 and 9 at Kensington Palace. They welcomed their first son, Prince William in June 1982, and their second son, Prince Henry (known as Harry) in September 1984. Charles was present at the births of both sons.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales pose with their sons Prince William and Prince Harry in the wild flower meadow at Highgrove on 14 July 1986 in Tetbury, England
Philanthropy
Charles has dedicated much of his working life to his charities, which are mainly inspired by his values of sustainability and harmony. Many of his engagements each year are in support of his charities and he has been instrumental in identifying where there is a need and creating charities that are able to support it. More than £100 million is raised each year to enable this work to be carried out both in the UK and overseas.
The Prince’s Trust was set up in 1976 and offers opportunities to young people between the age of 11 and 30 to build a better future for themselves. Since it’s inception, the Trust has helped more than a million young people who are facing homelessness, poverty or mental health issues.
The Prince’s Foundation works to restore, rebuild, or convert existing buildings to enable them to deliver services to the surrounding community. The solutions provided are holistic with sustainability in mind, in order to meet the future needs of our world.
In addition to his charity work, Charles has always sought to use his position to promote positive action, especially regarding sustainability and the future of our planet. According to online source princeofwales.gov.uk, King Charles: ‘believes that economic and social development will best succeed when it works in harmony, rather than in conflict, with nature.’
Charles’ dedication to green issues began long before it was mainstream or trendy. In fact, many believed this passion and dedication to be a little odd. He has penned many books covering environmental issues, and his own grounds at Highgrove House lead by example to feature organically maintained gardens with a kitchen garden and sustainable wildlife habitat, solar panels, and a natural sewage system.
With many years of dedication and tangible work behind him to prove his commitment to environmental issues is based on actual activism rather than just words, the United Kingdom and wider Commonwealth may be stepping into a new era under, what is being dubbed as, our ‘Climate King.’
Charles and Camilla
On 10 February 2005, Charles and Camilla announced their engagement and married on 9 April the same year, around 35 years after they first met. While the couple have known one another since they first dated in 1970, their relationship has come up against some hurdles along the way.
Camilla married her on/off boyfriend Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, a decision she made while Charles was at sea with the Royal Navy. He subsequently married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. They both went on to raise families with their spouses, but in 1993 a recording of an intimate phone call between the pair was leaked, causing a huge scandal that confirmed the continual rumours of their affair. This eventually led to them both divorcing their partners.
Charles and Camilla made their relationship public in January 1999, when they were photographed leaving her sister’s 50th birthday party at the Ritz Hotel. Charles and Camilla began to attend more events together, further making their relationship public.
In 2000, Camilla attended a 60th birthday celebration for the King of Greece at Highgrove, where she met the Queen for the first time, which was seen as the Queen giving the relationship her approval.
The couple moved into Clarence House together in 2003, before announcing their engagement in 2005.
The engagement ring that Charles gave Camilla was a family heirloom that had belonged to his grandmother, the Queen Mother. The ring features a fivecarat emerald-cut diamond in the centre with three diamond baguettes on each side, and holds much sentimental value as Charles had a very close relationship with his grandmother.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales pose outside the Akshardham Temple during day three of an official visit to India on 8 November 2013 in Delhi, India. This was the Royal couple’s third official visit to India together and their most extensive yet, which saw them spending nine days in India and afterwards visiting Sri Lanka in order to attend the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
King Charles III
Following the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, Charles acceded to the British throne on 8 September 2022. His mother was the longest reigning monarch in British history, which subsequently made Charles the longestserving heir apparent, and the oldest person to become a monarch, at the age of 73.
When the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II broke, there was some speculation around the regnal name that Britain’s new monarch would take. He had previously suggested that he may choose to reign as George VII to honour his grandfather, but Clarence House quickly confirmed that he will use the regnal name of Charles III.
The first few days in Charles’ role as King of England followed a busy schedule of protocol that included having an audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss, meeting with the Accession Council to be formally proclaimed as the new sovereign, holding his first Privy Council, and addressing the nation via televised broadcast. At the same time, Britain was in a period of mourning for the death of the Queen and meticulous funeral plans were being finetuned and rehearsed.
Prince William, Prince of Wales and King Charles III walk behind Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it is transported on a gun carriage from Buckingham Palace to
The Palace of Westminster ahead of her Lying-in-State on 14 September 2022 in London, United Kingdom