Charles George

* 2022
* 1949

**Charles, Prince of Wales** (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948), is a member of the British royal family. He is the oldest son of  Queen Elizabeth II and  Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is the heir apparent to the British throne.

He has an younger sister  Anne, Princess Royal (b.1950) and two younger brothers  Prince Andrew, Duke of York (b.1960) and  Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (b.1964).

In 1981, he married  Lady Diana Spencer. The couple had two children:  Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and  Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex In 1996, the couple divorced following well-publicized extramarital affairs by both parties. Diana died as the result of a car crash in Paris the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-term partner  Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

## Early Life

### Birth

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948, during the reign of his maternal grandfather George VI

### Christening

He was baptised there by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on 15 December 1948.

## Education

As was customary for upper-class children at the time, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed and undertook his education between the ages of five and eight. Buckingham Palace announced in 1955 that Charles would attend school rather than have a private tutor, making him the first heir apparent to be educated in that manner. On 7 November 1956, Charles commenced classes at Hill House School in west London. He did not receive preferential treatment from the school's founder and headmaster, Stuart Townend, who advised the Queen to have Charles train in football because the boys were never deferential to anyone on the football field. Charles then attended two of his father's former schools, Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire, England, from 1958, followed by Gordonstoun in the north-east of Scotland, beginning classes there in April 1962

He spent two terms in 1966 at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia, during which time he visited Papua New Guinea on a school trip with his history tutor, Michael Collins Persse. In 1973, Charles described his time at Timbertop as the most enjoyable part of his whole education. Upon his return to Gordonstoun, Charles emulated his father in becoming Head Boy. He left in 1967, with six GCE O-levels and two A-levels in history and French, at grades B and C respectively. On his early education, Charles later remarked, "I didn't enjoy school as much as I might have, but that was only because I'm happier at home than anywhere else."

## Personal Life

### Marriage to Diana and Children

Charles first met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977 while he was visiting her home, Althorp. He was the companion of her elder sister, Sarah, and did not consider Diana romantically until mid-1980. While Charles and Diana were sitting together on a bale of hay at a friend's barbecue in July, she mentioned that he had looked forlorn and in need of care at the funeral of his granduncle Lord Mountbatten. Soon, according to Charles's chosen biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, "without any apparent surge in feeling, he began to think seriously of her as a potential bride", and she accompanied Charles on visits to Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House.

Charles's cousin Norton Knatchbull and his wife told Charles that Diana appeared awestruck by his position and that he did not seem to be in love with her. Meanwhile, the couple's continuing courtship attracted intense attention from the press and paparazzi. When Prince Philip told him that the media speculation would injure Diana's reputation if Charles did not come to a decision about marrying her soon, and realising that she was a suitable royal bride (according to Mountbatten's criteria), Charles construed his father's advice as a warning to proceed without further delay.

Prince Charles proposed to Diana in February 1981; she accepted and they married in St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July of that year. Upon his marriage, Charles reduced his voluntary tax contribution from the profits generated by the Duchy of Cornwall from 50% to 25%. The couple lived at Kensington Palace and at Highgrove House, near Tetbury, and had two children: Princes William (b. 1982) and Henry (known as "Harry") (b. 1984). Charles set a precedent by being the first royal father to be present at his children's births.

Within five years, the marriage was in trouble due to the couple's incompatibility and near 13-year age difference. In a videotape recorded by Peter Settelen in 1992, Diana admitted that by 1986, she had been "deeply in love with someone who worked in this environment." It is thought she was referring to Barry Mannakee, who was transferred to the Diplomatic Protection Squad in 1986 after his managers had determined that his relationship with Diana had been inappropriate. Diana later commenced a relationship with Major James Hewitt, the family's former riding instructor. Charles and Diana's evident discomfort in each other's company led to them being dubbed "The Glums" by the press. Diana exposed Charles's affair with Camilla in a book by Andrew Morton, *Diana, Her True Story*. Audio tapes of her own extramarital flirtations also surfaced. Persistent suggestions that Hewitt is Prince Harry's father have been based on a physical similarity between Hewitt and Harry. However, Harry had already been born by the time Diana's affair with Hewitt began.

##### Legal separation and divorce

In December 1992, British Prime Minister John Major announced the couple's legal separation in Parliament. Earlier that year, the British press had published transcripts of a passionate bugged telephone conversation between Charles and Camilla from 1989, which was dubbed Camillagate by the press. Prince Charles sought public understanding in a television film, *Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role*, with Jonathan Dimbleby that was broadcast on 29 June 1994. In an interview in the film, he confirmed his own extramarital affair with Camilla, saying that he had rekindled their association in 1986 only after his marriage to Diana had "irretrievably broken down". Charles and Diana divorced on 28 August 1996. Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August of the following year; Charles flew to Paris with Diana's sisters to accompany her body back to Britain

### Marriage to Camilla

he engagement of Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was announced on 10 February 2005; he presented her with an engagement ring that had belonged to his grandmother. The Queen's consent to the marriage (as required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772) was recorded in a Privy Council meeting on 2 March. In Canada, the Department of Justice announced its decision that the Queen's Privy Council for Canada was not required to meet to give its consent to the marriage, as the union would not result in offspring and would have no impact on the succession to the Canadian throne.

Charles was the only member of the royal family to have a civil rather than a church wedding in England. Government documents from the 1950s and 1960s, published by the BBC, stated that such a marriage was illegal, though these were dismissed by Charles's spokesman, and explained to be obsolete by the sitting government.

The marriage was scheduled to take place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, with a subsequent religious blessing at St George's Chapel. The venue was subsequently changed to Windsor Guildhall, because a civil marriage at Windsor Castle would oblige the venue to be available to anyone who wished to be married there. Four days before the wedding, it was postponed from the originally scheduled date of 8 April until the following day in order to allow Charles and some of the invited dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Charles's parents did not attend the civil marriage ceremony; the Queen's reluctance to attend possibly arose from her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh did attend the service of blessing and later held a reception for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle. The blessing, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, was televised.

## Titles and Succession

* 14 November 1948 – 6 February 1952: *His Royal Highness* Prince Charles of Edinburgh
* 6 February 1952 – present: *His Royal Highness* The Duke of Cornwall
	+ *in Scotland*: 6 February 1952 – present: *His Royal Highness* The Duke of Rothesay
* 26 July 1958 – present: *His Royal Highness* The Prince of Wales

There has been speculation as to what regnal name the prince would choose upon his succession to the throne. If he uses his first name, he would be known as *Charles III*. However, it was reported in 2005 that Charles has suggested he may choose to reign as *George VII* in honour of his maternal grandfather, and to avoid association with the Stuart kings Charles I (who was beheaded) and Charles II (who was known for his promiscuous lifestyle), as well as to be sensitive to the memory of Bonnie Prince Charlie, once a Stuart pretender to the English and Scottish thrones, who was called "Charles III" by his supporters. Charles's office responded that "no decision has been made".