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By Ruby Mellen and Kenneth Dickerman | Apr 28, 2023
Charles III became king the moment his mother died in September. On May 6, he will be crowned in a coronation ceremony that further formalizes the British royal transition.
Queen Elizabeth II took pains to stay out of politics. That may be harder for Charles, who lived a full life before ascending to the throne at 73, and developed strong opinions — about the environment, organic farming, architecture and homeopathic medicine, to name some of his passions.
A look back at his life, with its privileges and its tragedies, may offer clues about what sort of king he will prove to be.
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Charles was born on Nov. 14, 1948 in Buckingham Palace. Bells tolled in Westminster Abbey and the Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park. He was 3 when his mother became queen and he became heir to the throne.
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Charles and his sister, Princess Anne, are pictured with their parents, then Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, in 1951. (AFP/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family, including a young Prince Charles, wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace following her coronation in 1953. (AP)
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Charles was the first heir to be educated outside of the palace, attending a prep school in London and then Gordonstoun, a boarding school in Scotland that his father, Philip, had also attended. Charles — who was less athletic and more sensitive than his father and, as son of the queen, more of a target for bullying — described his time at the austere facilities as a “prison sentence.”
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Prince Charles stands in his academic robes as he arrives at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1967. (Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
Charles inherited the title of Prince of Wales at a time of a growing Welsh nationalist movement. And so, ahead of his investiture, he left Trinity College, Cambridge, to undertake a crash course in Welsh history and culture, studying with tutor Edward Millward at Aberystwyth University.
Prince Charles is crowned as Prince of Wales by his mother on July 1, 1969. (Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Getty Images)
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At his investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle on July 1, 1969, Charles brushed off controversy, spoke in Welsh and charmed the nation.
“It is with a certain sense of pride and emotion that I have received these symbols of office, here in this magnificent fortress, where no one could fail to be stirred by its atmosphere of timeworn grandeur, nor where I myself could be unaware of the long history of Wales in its determination to remain individual and to guard its own particular heritage,” he said.
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Prince Charles skis at Isola, a resort north of Nice, France, in 1977. (AP)
Charles was in many ways a typical wealthy Brit — albeit one with a certain set of princely duties. He spent his time skiing, playing polo and donating to charity.
As he grew older, tabloids long obsessed with the lives of royals became bolder, photographing family members outside of formal events.
Prince Charles, right, is followed closely by a member of the opposing team during a polo match in Windsor, England, in 1965. (AP)
Prince Charles, then a member of the Royal Navy, receives a visit from his brother Prince Andrew in November 1976. (AP)
At 31, after a stint serving in the Royal Navy, he married Diana Spencer, 19. Diana’s apparent warmth, beauty and sense of style made her a subject of adoration. Paparazzi often tailed the princess wherever she went. Masses of people gathered to celebrate her on international trips.
The couple had two sons, William and Harry.
A carriage carries Prince Charles and Princess Diana following their wedding on July 29, 1981. (AP)
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles face the cameras after the birth of their son, Prince William, on June 22, 1982. (John Redman/AP)
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John Redman/AP
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But their marriage faltered, and then failed. In a 1994 interview, Charles admitted he had not been faithful. Diana followed that with a televised interview in which she said, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” She was referring to her husband having continued his relationship with a previous flame, Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996.
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles make a rare appearance together in 1993, the year they separated. (Martin Cleaver/AP)
In August 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. People mourned her death around the world. Her funeral at Westminster Abbey was viewed by more than 34 million. Some blamed Charles for such a tragic end to what had once appeared to be a fairy tale.
Guardsmen escort the coffin of Princess Diana during her funeral on Sept. 6, 1997. (Wolfgang Rattay/AFP/Getty Images)
Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, and her sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, stand with Charles during her funeral procession. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Pool/AP)
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Charles and Camilla were cautious about appearing together, aware that public acceptance would take time. Their first — highly choreographed — public expression of affection came in 2001, when they briefly kissed each other on the cheek at an event she was hosting for the National Osteoporosis Society.
The couple moved into Clarence House together in 2003 and married in 2005.
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Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, before the future king's marriage to Diana. (Tim Graham/Getty Images)
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were married on April 9, 2005. (Chris Ison/AFP/Getty Images)
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As prince, Charles spoke out on issues important to him. He is an ardent conservationist who has been warning about the looming threat of climate change and species extinction for decades. In 2022, he was a prominent speaker at the United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
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Prince Charles visits Glasgow Central Station to view two alternative fuel green trains in November 2021. (Jane Barlow/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
Charles practices organic farming at his country residence Highgrove House, depicted here in sketches by the king that are part of an exhibition in London. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)
Charles put his theories about natural harmony and community into practice in Poundbury, a town he built on land owned by his hereditary estate in southern England. In this image, from an October 2016 visit, he watches Camilla pull a half pint of “The Duchess” ale inside the town's Duchess of Cornwall pub.
Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
In September, after seven decades as heir, he was proclaimed King Charles III.
“My life will of course change as I take up my new responsibilities,” he said in his first address as sovereign. He has reined in his activism.
Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
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The Washington Post
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King Charles III leaves Westminster Abbey after the funeral of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. (James Forde for The Washington Post)
A majority of people in Britain continue to support the monarchy and many have a favorable view of Charles. But he is not as popular as his mother was. And a growing minority of people view the royal family as an expensive relic.
The family’s standing took further hit with the release of Prince Harry’s Netflix documentary and memoir, in which he inveighed against his father and brother and accused their staffs of actively feeing stories about him and his wife, Megan, to the media mob.
Britain's Prince William and Prince Harry walk together after viewing floral tributes for the late Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Sept. 10.
Martin Meissner/AP
Martin Meissner/AP
Palace officials have been keen to promote the coronation as a “sustainable” event, with fewer guests and a shorter parade route than Queen Elizabeth II’s. But there will be no shortage of pomp.
Martin Meissner/AP
Ahead of his coronation, King Charles III presents new Standards and Colours to the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Buckingham Palace on April 27. (Yui Mok/Reuters)
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Credits
Editing by Reem Akkad and Ann Gerhart.