King Charles III

King Charles III succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II to the British throne on 8th September 2022. In fact, he has been heir to the throne since 1952 and was therefore the longest "heir" ever in British history!

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace. As a young man he went to Cambridge University before serving a tour of duty with the Royal Navy. He is the patron of many charities, travels widely for the Royal family, and is passionate about local, organic farming.

In 1981 he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. In 2005 he married Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Children can colour in our fun picture of King Charles III, display our poster, have a go at filling out our fact-finding worksheet or learn to draw their own royal portrait!

A Short Biography of King Charles III

Charles Philip Arthur George was born on November 14th, 1948 at Buckingham Palace in London. His parents were Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and he was the first grandchild of King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. He was christened a month later by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace. His sister Anne was born two years later in 1950, followed by his brother Andrew who was born in 1960. His youngest brother Edward was born in 1964.

Heir apparent aged 3

His mother became Queen Elizabeth II when her father King George VI died on 6 February 1952, and as the Sovereign’s eldest son Charles became first in line to the British throne. Charles was four years old at his mother’s Coronation on 2nd June 1953, and sat between his aunt Princess Margaret and his grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey for the occasion.

Childhood and education

The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen decided that Charles should attend a school rather than have a tutor at Buckingham Palace, and he started at London’s Hill House school in 1956. He then became a boarder at Cheam School in Berkshire. In 1958, when he was nine years old, The Queen gave him the titles Earl of Chester and The Prince of Wales.

In 1962 Charles went to school at Gordonstoun, near Elgin in Scotland, which his father had also attended. He also spent two terms as an exchange student in Melbourne, Australia in 1966 before returning to Scotland for his final year at Gordonstoun where he became school guardian (head boy).

In 1967 the Prince went to Cambridge University where he studied anthropology and archaeology at Trinity College before changing to history, and in 1970 he earned a 2:2 degree.

The Prince of Wales

Charles was invested as Prince of Wales by his mother the Queen at a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle on 1st July 1969. He spent a term learning to speak Welsh at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth before his investiture. The following year he took his seat in the House of Lords on 11th February 1970.

A naval career

In 1971 the Prince began training as a jet pilot after previously receiving flying instruction during his time at Cambridge from the RAF. He then followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and both great-grandfathers and began a naval career, taking a course at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, followed by service on HMS Norfolk. In 1974 he qualified as a helicopter pilot.

Princess Diana

The Prince married Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul’s Cathedral on 29th July 1981. The Prince and Princess of Wales had two sons together, Prince William who was born on 21st June 1982 and his younger brother Prince Harry, born on 15th September 1984.

In 1992 it was announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales had agreed to separate, and their marriage was later dissolved in August 1996. The Princess was still a member of the Royal Family and carried out her public work for several charities. On 31st August 1997 Princess Diana was killed in a car crash, and Charles accompanied his two young sons as they walked behind her coffin on the sad day of the funeral. Charles also asked the media to respect the privacy of his two sons so that they could lead a normal school life.

A second marriage

On the 9th of April 2005, Charles married Mrs Parker Bowles at a civil ceremony in Windsor, followed by a reception at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen. Mrs Parker Bowles then became known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

Charles becomes King

King Charles III succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II to the British throne on 8th September 2022. He was the longest-serving heir to the throne in British history. The first decision of his reign was to decide how he would be known as king, and he could have chosen from any of his four names – Charles Philip Arthur George. Charles chose to be known as King Charles III, and his wife Camilla became the Queen Consort.

The Coronation of King Charles III

On Saturday 6 May 2023, the Coronation of King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla took place at Westminster Abbey following months of preparation. It was the first Coronation in nearly 70 years and huge crowds lined the Mall despite the rainy weather. The ceremony included some modern touches along with many ancient traditions. King Charles was crowned with the St Edward's Crown, first made for King Charles II in 1661. The crown has a solid gold frame and weighs nearly 5 pounds.

Fun Facts about King Charles III

• Charles learned trumpet, piano and cello as a child, and, although he described his own playing as “ hopeless”, stuck with cello and played in the Trinity College Orchestra.
• King Charles III wrote a children’s book called The Old Man of Lochnagar in 1980 based on stories he would tell his young brothers, Princes Andrew and Edward. The story tells the tale of an old man who visited caves near to Balmoral looking for somewhere to take a bath.
• He has campaigned for better action and awareness on the environment for over than 50 years.

“I find myself born into this particular position. I’m determined to make the most of it. And to do whatever I can to help. And I hope I leave things behind a little bit better than I found them.”
King Charles III

Our King Charles III Resources