Charles III he is a British monarch who was proclaimed King of the United Kingdom in September 2022, when he was 73 years old. Charles III is the eldest son of Elizabeth II, who was Queen of the United Kingdom for 70 years. He is the monarch who took the throne at the oldest age in the entire history of the British monarchy.
King Charles was born in 1948 at Buckingham Palace, being the first British monarch to study at a school and the first to graduate from a university. He pursued a military career for a few years and had two marriages, the first to Diana, with whom he had his two children, and the second with Camilla.
Read too: How does the line of succession to the British throne work?
Summary about Charles III
Charles III is a British monarch who was proclaimed King of UK in 2022.
He is the eldest son of Elizabeth II, born in 1948.
He is the monarch who took the British throne at the oldest age.
He was married twice: first to Diana and then to Camilla.
His eldest son, William, is the current heir to the throne.
Birth and youth of Charles III
Charles Philip Arthur George was born on November 14, 1948. His birth took place at Buckingham Palace in London, England. Charles's mother was Elizabeth II, who had not yet been crowned queen in the year of her son's birth, and her father was Philip, later known as King Consort of England.
At the time of Charles's birth, Elizabeth was the heir to the throne, as the British King was George VI. She became queen only in 1952, on the occasion of the death of her father, Charles's grandfather. As Elizabeth's eldest son, he would become first in the line of succession if his mother were crowned, which we have already seen happened.
Charles also has three younger siblings: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Charles was the first monarch of the British royal family to study in a conventional school and was not privately educated by tutors. He studied at different schools in England, Scotland and Australia.
He was also the first monarch to enter a university and, in 1967, he was admitted to Trinity College, part of the University of Cambridge, where he studied Archaeology, Anthropology and History. He graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During his time at university, he was invested as Prince of Wales, with the ceremony taking place in 1969.
Military career of Charles III
After graduating, Charles decided to join the military by enlisting. Initially, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force, the British Air Force, then he enlisted in the Royal Navy, the British Royal Navy. He served in the Air Force in March 1971. In the Royal Navy he joined in September of the same year.
He served on the destroyer HMS Norfolk and on two frigates named HMS Minerva and HMS Jupiter. This happened between the years 1971 and 1974. From 1974 he trained as a helicopter and plane pilot and, in 1976, he was assigned to command a vessel called HMS Bronington. Still in 1976, Charles ended his military service.
Read too: 10 fun facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Marriage of Charles III to Diana
Prince Charles' youth was marked by a fair amount of romantic relationships. One was with a woman from British royal circles, Elizabeth Sarah. This woman was in a relationship with Charles around 1977, and it was through this relationship that Charles met what would be his first wife, Diana.
This happened because Elizabeth Sarah was Diana's sister. O then Prince Charles met young Diana in 1977, during an event she attended with her sister. From 1980 onwards, Charles and Diana grew closer, becoming friends, and a relationship developed.
On February 24, 1981, the royal family announced that Prince Charles and Diana were engaged. At the time, Diana was working as a children's teacher, and the ad put her in the spotlight in the British media. O The two's wedding took place in St. Paul's Cathedral, located in the City of London, on July 29, 1981.
Prince Charles's wedding was televised and broadcast to nearly 1 billion people across the planet. Among the guests were about 2600 people, and that was considered the “wedding of the century”. Despite the enchantment caused by the marriage, the Charles and Diana's relationship was far from a happy relationship.
Charles was publicly branded for his extramarital affairs, particularly with Camilla Parker. Bowles, an old flame of Charles and with whom he had already had a relationship in the early s. 1970. In addition, the couple also had many disagreements, which caused enormous wear on the relationship.
In the wedding, Charles and Diana had two children. The eldest son was born in 1982, being called William. At the time, he was second in line to the throne, but he is currently first, so he could be King of the United Kingdom. The second child was born in 1984, being named Harry.
![Stamp printed in New Zealand shows Princess Diana and Princes Charles, William and Harry in 1985. [2]](/f/501496d290c132a06a48614b723912d6.jpg)
A Charles and Diana's separation was announced in December 1992, but the divorce was only consolidated on August 28, 1996. Tragically, Diana passed away on August 31, 1997, in a car accident in Paris. Charles traveled to the French capital for the occasion to bring his ex-wife's body back to England and was present at her funeral and burial.
Years later, Charles announced his engagement to Camilla Parker Bowles, the pivot of his first marriage crisis. This announcement took place in February 2005, and the relationship had the consent of Queen Elizabeth II. On April 9, 2005, Charles and Camilla's wedding took place. Currently, she is considered queen consort of the English king, accompanying him in his official events.
![Stamp printed in Jersey commemorating the wedding of Charles, then Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles, circa 2006. [3]](/f/eb53a12e25b8f9accf44bb9c762926a4.jpg)
Philanthropic work of Charles III
Throughout his life, Charles also carried out a number of philanthropic works, demonstrating concern mainly with environmental issuesis. He worked on projects and foundations with the aim of drawing attention to the climate changes, demanding actions to revert the effects that they can cause.
Here are some causes defended by Charles III:
use of electric cars as a way to reduce the emission of gases that warm the planet;
organic agriculture;
defense of tropical forests;
acting against the logging;
support for humanitarian projects.
Proclamation of the reign of Charles III
On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, ending a 70-year reign — the longest in the history of monarchy british. With that, Prince Charles was proclaimed King, as he was first in the line of succession as the Queen's eldest son. With that proclamation, he became Charles III of the United Kingdom.
At the time of Charles III's appointment, he was 73 years old, making him the monarch more old to be proclaimed king in the history of the British monarchy. This event ended a long wait for him for the English throne.
→ Infographic with the line of succession to the British throne
Image credits:
[1] LINGTREN.COM / Shutterstock
[2] rook76 / Shutterstock
[3] neftali / Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher