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Royal family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
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v t e

The King
The Queen\n
- The Prince of Wales
  The Princess of Wales\n
- The Duke of Sussex
  The Duchess of Sussex\n
  - Prince Archie of Sussex
  - Princess Lilibet of Sussex

Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms since 8 September 2022.^[b] \n

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and became heir apparent when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, acceded to the throne in 1952. He was created Prince of Wales in 1958 and his investiture was held in 1969. He was educated at Cheam School and Gordonstoun, and later spent six months at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After completing a history degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer. They had two sons, William and Harry. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996, after they had each engaged in well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-term partner, Camilla Parker Bowles.\n

As heir apparent, Charles undertook official duties and engagements on behalf of his mother and represented the United Kingdom on visits abroad. He founded The Prince's Trust^[e] in 1976, sponsored the Prince's Charities, and became patron or president of more than 800 other charities and organisations. He advocated for the conservation of historic buildings and the importance of traditional architecture in society. In that vein, he generated the experimental new town of Poundbury. An environmentalist, Charles supported organic farming and action to prevent climate change during his time as the manager of the Duchy of Cornwall estates, earning him awards and recognition as well as criticism; he is also a prominent critic of the adoption of genetically modified food, while his support for alternative medicine has been criticised. He has authored or co-authored 17 books.\n

\nCharles became king upon his mother's death in 2022. At the age of 73, he was the oldest person to accede to the British throne, after having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history. Significant events in his reign have included his coronation in 2023 and his cancer diagnosis the following year, the latter of which temporarily suspended planned public engagements.

Name\n	Birth\n	Marriage\n	Children\n
Date\n	Spouse\n
William, Prince of Wales\n	(1982-06-21) 21 June 1982 (age 42)\n	29 April 2011\n	Catherine Middleton\n	Prince George of Wales Princess Charlotte of Wales Prince Louis of Wales \n
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex\n	(1984-09-15) 15 September 1984 (age 40)\n	19 May 2018\n	Meghan Markle\n	Prince Archie of Sussex Princess Lilibet of Sussex \n

Regnal titles\n
Charles III House of Windsor Born: 14 November 1948\n
Preceded by Elizabeth II \n	King of the United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu 8 September 2022 \u2013 present\n	Incumbent Heir apparent: The Prince of Wales\n
British royalty\n
Vacant Title last held by Edward (VIII) \n	Prince of Wales 26 July 1958 \u2013 8 September 2022\n	Succeeded by The Prince William \n
Duke of Cornwall Duke of Rothesay 6 February 1952 \u2013 8 September 2022\n
Peerage of the United Kingdom\n
Preceded by The Prince Philip \n	Duke of Edinburgh 9 April 2021 \u2013 8 September 2022\n	Merged with the Crown \n
Academic offices\n
Preceded by The Earl Mountbatten of Burma \n	President of the United World Colleges 1978\u20131995\n	Succeeded by The Queen of Jordan \n
Preceded by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother \n	President of the Royal College of Music 1993\u2013present\n	Incumbent\n
Honorary titles\n
Preceded by The Duke of Gloucester \n	Great Master of the Order of the Bath 10 December 1974 \u2013 8 September 2022\n	Vacant Title next held by The Prince of Wales \n
Preceded by Elizabeth II \n	Head of the Commonwealth 8 September 2022 \u2013 present\n	Incumbent\n
Military offices\n
Preceded by Elizabeth II \n	Lord High Admiral 8 September 2022 – present\n	Incumbent\n
Order of precedence\n
First \n	Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom HM The King \n	Succeeded by The Prince of Wales \n

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Early life, family, and education

Prince of Wales

Military training and career

Relationships and marriages

Bachelorhood

Lady Diana Spencer

Camilla Parker Bowles

Official duties

Reign

Health

Diet

Charity work

Investigations of donations

Personal interests

Built environment

Natural environment

Alternative medicine

Sports

Visual, performing, and literary arts

Religion and philosophy

Media image and public opinion

Reaction to press treatment

Residences and finance

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles and styles

Arms

Banners, flags, and standards

As heir apparent

As sovereign

Issue

Ancestry

Published works

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

What happened with Charles III on 24 February, 1981