Charles III is the longest serving heir to the throne in British history.
The 73-year-old has been heir apparent since he was three years old when his mother became Queen Elizabeth II.
The following are important dates in his life:
– early years –
14 November 1948: His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George of Edinburgh is born, second in line to the throne at Buckingham Palace.
15 December 1948: Charles is baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Palace Music Room.
February 6, 1952: Death of Charles’ grandfather, King George VI, and ascension of Queen Elizabeth II. The sovereign’s eldest son, Charles succeeds to the throne at the age of just three.
June 2, 1953: Charles becomes the first heir to the throne to attend his mother’s coronation.
26 July 1958: He becomes the 21st Prince of Wales at the age of nine.
April 1962: Charles begins attending Gordonstoun, a boarding school in north-east Scotland where his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attended.
– dress and crown –
1967: Charles left Gordonstoun for Trinity College, Cambridge University to study Archeology and Anthropology, then History.
1 July 1969: He is invested as the Prince of Wales in a televised ceremony at Caernarfon Castle after spending a semester studying Welsh at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
1970: Charles graduates from university – as the first heir to the throne.
– In the Navy –
September 1971: The future king joins the Royal Navy, a path followed by his father. Served on the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk and two frigates.
1974: Already a trained jet pilot, he qualifies as a helicopter pilot and joins an air squadron operating out of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes.
1976: Charles commanded the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington before leaving the Royal Navy. He uses his £7,400 Navy severance pay to start the charity The Prince’s Trust.
– Loss, Love and Children –
August 27, 1979: Charles’ great-uncle and closest confidante Lord Louis Mountbatten is assassinated by the Irish Republican Army.
July 29, 1981: The Prince weds Lady Diana Spencer at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral in a fairytale wedding watched by an estimated 750 million people worldwide. She becomes Princess of Wales.
June 21, 1982: The couple’s first son, Prince William, is born and ensures the succession.
Prince Harry follows on September 15, 1984.
March 10, 1988: Charles escapes unharmed from an avalanche while skiing in Klosters, Switzerland, but one of his friends is killed and another injured.
– Divorce and Tragedy –
December 9, 1992: Charles and Diana announce their separation. The royal family is rocked by revelations about the couple’s marriage and infidelity. They officially divorced on August 28, 1996.
August 31, 1997: Diana, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul are killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris while trying to flee from paparazzi photographers.
Charles repatriates her body, insisting that she be accorded full royal honors in death.
September 6, 1997: Charles escorts William, Harry and their uncle Charles Spencer to the funeral, walking behind their coffin.
– Camilla and grandchildren –
April 9, 2005: Charles weds his longtime lover Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. She becomes the Duchess of Cornwall.
April 29, 2011: William marries Kate Middleton, a commoner, at Westminster Abbey.
July 22, 2013: Charles becomes a grandfather after the birth of William and Kate’s son, Prince George. Princess Charlotte followed in 2015, followed by Prince Louis in 2018.
May 19, 2018: Charles walks Meghan Markle down the aisle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle as she marries his youngest son, Prince Harry.
November 14: Charles turns 70.
– Later years –
May 6, 2019: Charles becomes a grandfather again when Meghan gives birth to Archie. Lilibet Diana will follow in 2021.
March 7, 2021: Harry slams his father in a TV interview from the US, where he moved after retiring from royal life in 2020.
He accuses Charles of choking on tradition and cutting him off financially after the move, although royal officials later claim he “allocated a significant sum” to the couple to help them through the transition.
November 30, 2021: Charles attends a ceremony in Barbados at which the Caribbean island becomes a republic.
June 2022: Charles’ role as future monarch becomes increasingly important as he represents the ailing Queen at several of her platinum jubilee celebrations.
8 September 2022: The Queen dies at Balmoral, Scotland, aged 96. Charles ascends the throne and becomes King Charles III, and his wife Camilla is made Queen Consort.
