King Charles III: The life of our new king

    King Charles III
    King Charles III delivers his address to the nation and the Commonwealth from Buckingham Palace, London, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday 8 September 2022. PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

    Our new King Charles III was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948, at 9.14pm. His title, The Prince of Wales…

    The life of King Charles III before he became King

    He was christened Charles Philip Arthur George within the Music Room at Buckingham Palace on 15 December 1948 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and would become heir to the throne a little over three years later following his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s, accession to the throne.

    After studying history and French at Gordonstoun in Scotland, King Charles went on to read archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge University’s Trinity College in 1967 before going on to study history and being awarded a 2:2 degree in 1970. During this time he also spent a term at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth learning to speak Welsh before The Queen invested him as the Prince of Wales on 1 July 1969. After graduating, the King trained as a jet pilot with the Royal Air Force at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire before embarking on a naval career.

    In 1981 the country gathered together to watch The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, get married in St Paul’s Cathedral with TV footage of the event broadcast around the world to an estimated audience of over 700 million. A year later saw the royal couple welcome their son, Prince William, into the world, shortly followed by Prince Harry in 1984. However, in 1996 the royal couple’s marriage came to an end and just a year later The Princess of Wales tragically died in a car crash in France.

    In 2005 King Charles III married Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Consort, in a civil ceremony which took place in front of 800 guests at the Guildhall in Windsor.

    During his time as the Prince of Wales, the King was patron to over 400 organisations, including The Prince’s Charities which raise over £100 million each year to help young people, environmental sustainability and the built environment among others causes.

    Prince Charles. Credit: Creative Commons
    King Charles III. Credit: Creative Commons

    Becoming King Charles III

    On the death of his mother, HM Queen Elizabeth II, on 8 September 2022, the Prince became King Charles III at the age of 73. His coronation as King is expected to take place in the summer of 2023.

    In his first address to the nation as King, he said, “Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept.”

    After commented on his mother’s life-long service to her country, he said, “I, too, now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.”

    The King told us he would “count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla. But, he saved his final words for his mother. Quoting from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the king said, “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

    Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland) pose after planting a tree at the Balmoral Cricket Pavilion, to mark the start of the official planting season for the Queen’s Green Canopy in October 2021. (Photo by Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

    Read more:

    Leave your message of condolence for the Royal Family on the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Queen Elizabeth II: Our longest reigning monarch

    10 amazing facts you never knew about the Queen

     

     

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