caption father house religion mother birth_place title birth_date issue signature image article_title name spouses
the prince of wales in jersey , july 2012 prince philip , duke of edinburgh house of windsor church of england elizabeth ii buckingham palace , london , uk prince -rrb- of wales ; duke of rothesay -lrb- more 14 november 1948 prince wales william , duke of cambridge prince henry of charles signature.jpg prince charles 2012.jpg charles , prince of wales
 prince charles lady divorced camilla parker bowles 9 april 2005 diana spencer 29 july 1981 28 august 1996
charles , prince of wales

charles , prince of wales -lrb- charles philip arthur george ; born 14 november 1948 -rrb- , is the eldest child and heir apparent of queen elizabeth ii .
known alternatively in scotland as duke of rothesay and in south west england as duke of cornwall , he is the longest-serving heir apparent in british history , having held the position since 1952 .
he is also the oldest person to be next-in-line to the throne since sophia of hanover -lrb- the heir presumptive to queen anne -rrb- , who died in 1714 at the age of 83 .
charles was born at buckingham palace as the first grandchild of king george vi and queen elizabeth .
he was educated at cheam and gordonstoun schools , which his father , prince philip , duke of edinburgh , had attended as a child , as well as the timbertop campus of geelong grammar school in victoria , australia .
after earning a bachelor of arts degree from trinity college , cambridge , charles served in the royal navy from 1971 to 1976 .
in 1981 , he married lady diana spencer and they had two sons : prince william , duke of cambridge -lrb- born 1982 -rrb- , and prince harry -lrb- born 1984 -rrb- .
in 1996 , the couple divorced , following well-publicised extra-marital affairs .
diana died in a car crash in paris the following year .
in 2005 , charles married camilla parker bowles , who uses the title duchess of cornwall .
charles 's interests encompass a range of humanitarian and social issues : he founded the prince 's trust in 1976 , sponsors the prince 's charities , and is patron of numerous other charitable and arts organisations .
charles has long championed organic farming for which he established the duchy home farm , run by the duchy of cornwall , which produces ingredients for the duchy originals brand which he founded in 1990 .
charles has sought to raise world awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment , such as climate change .
as an environmentalist , he has received numerous awards and recognition from environmental groups around the world .
he has been outspoken on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings .
subsequently , charles created poundbury , an experimental new town based on his theories , in dorset in 1993 .
he has authored a number of books , including '' '' in 1989 and the children 's book `` the old man of lochnagar '' in 1980 .
he has also promoted alternative medicine , including homeopathy , which has attracted praise and criticism .
