Charles became the oldest person ever to assume the British throne. King Charles III became the King of England, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Charles will inherit the throne and her Majesty’s private wealth after he is crowned king. No date has been set for his coronation yet.
Like Queen Elizabeth II, Charles will be the head of state for the UK and 14 other countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Queen Elizabeth II, who marked 70 years on the throne this year, was the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in British history. Buckingham Palace announced she died at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, where members of the royal family had rushed to her side after her health took a turn for the worse.
REPORTERS AT LARGE in this article highlights 10 facts about King Charles III, the new King of England:
• Charles was the first heir not educated at home, the first to earn a university degree and the first to grow up in the ever-intensifying media glare as deference to royalty faded.
• Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born in Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948. When his mother acceded to the throne in 1952, the 3-year-old prince became the Duke of Cornwall. He became the Prince of Wales at 20.
• His school years were reportedly “unhappy”, with the future king being bullied by classmates at Gordonstoun. This Scottish boarding school prides itself on building character through vigorous outdoor activities and educated its father, Philip, according to The Associated Press.
• Charles studied history at Cambridge University’s Trinity College, where in 1970 he became the first British royal to earn a university degree.
• Charles then spent seven years in uniform, training as a Royal Air Force pilot before joining the Royal Navy, where he learned to fly helicopters. He ended his military career as commander of the HMS Bronington, a minesweeper, in 1976.
• In 2018, Charles was named the queen’s designated successor as head of the Commonwealth, an association of 54 nations with links to the British Empire. The process accelerated after her husband, Prince Philip, died on April 9, 2021.
• Charles met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977 when she was 16, and he was dating her older sister. Diana didn’t see him again until 1980. Rumours of their engagement swirled after she was invited to spend time with Charles and the royal family.
• The couple married in a globally televised ceremony on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Prince William, now heir to the throne, was born less than a year later, followed by his brother, Prince Harry, in 1984.
• It took years for many in Britain to forgive Charles for his admitted infidelity to Diana before “the people’s princess” died in a Paris car crash in 1997. But the public mood softened after he married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 and she became the Duchess of Cornwall.
• Charles admitted to adultery with a TV interviewer in 1994. In an interview, Diana drew attention to her husband’s relationship with Camilla, saying: “There were three of us in this marriage.”
