Charles III

Charles III (sometimes also Charles III) was the King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth nations. Direct heir to Elizabeth II.

Brief biography

Charles was born on November 14, 1948 at Buckingham Palace in London. His grandfather George VI was then King of England. Charles was the first child of then Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

In February 1952, after the death of George VI and the ascension to the throne of Elizabeth II, the three-year-old Charles became direct heir to the British throne.

Education

Since November 1956, Charles became the first heir to the throne to attend school. All other heirs before that had a private tutor. He attended Hill House School in west London. On the advice of the headmaster of the school, Charles began to play soccer, since it was on the soccer field that no one considered his high status.

Charles later attended Cheam Preparatory School in the Berkshires and Gordonstoun in the northeast of Scotland. He also studied for two semesters at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After returning to Gordonstoun, Charles became a Head Boy.

In June 1970, Charles graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He became the first heir to receive a university degree. In August 1975, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge.

The Prince of Wales

In July 1958, Charles was conferred the title of Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.

In 1970 he received a seat in the House of Lords and gave his first speech four years later. Before Charles gave his speech in the House of Lords as a member of Edward VII's royal family in 1884.

In 1976, Charles founded the Prince Trust and assumed some public duties. As a prince he visited the United States in 1981.

Charles holds the absolute record in the history of the British monarchy for the longest tenure as heir to the crown. With his proclamation as king, 74-year-old Charles will officially become the oldest person to become monarch. The previous record holder was William IV, who became king at the age of 64.

Charles and the Ukraine

In September 1996, Charles visited Ukraine for the first time. In Kiev, he met with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and visited the Eternal Glory Memorial and the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. He also visited Sevastopol.

In March 2022, Charles issued a strong condemnation of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and expressed support for Ukrainian defenders.

"We stand in solidarity with all who are resisting brutal aggression," Charles said at the time.

The title after the death of the queen

The full title of the new King of England is: his majesty Charles, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other kingdoms and territories king, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith.

Family

Charles has been married twice. His first wife, Diana Spencer, known to the world as Princess Diana, died in a car accident.

Diana gave birth to Charles sons William and Harry.

Since 2005 he has been married to Camilla Parker Bowles. After Charles' ascension to the throne, Camilla would become Queen Consort.