Charles III, the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from September 8, 2022. He is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. After being the longest-serving monarch-in-waiting in British history, Charles ascended to the throne at the age of 73, following his mother’s death in September 2022. On May 6, 2023, he received his coronation, the first in seven decades.
After attending prestigious schools in Buckingham Palace, London, Hampshire, and Scotland, Charles enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1967. In 1971, he completed his bachelor’s degree there, becoming the first British crown heir to do so. He also spent a term studying Welsh at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth in preparation for his investiture as Prince of Wales on July 1, 1969, at Caernarvon Castle. He subsequently attended the Royal Air Force College (where he became an accomplished flier) and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, before serving in the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. Later, he became a vocal critic of modern architecture. He expressed his views on the topic in A Vision of Britain (1989). In 1992, he formed the Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture, which eventually became the BRE Trust, an organization that works on urban regeneration and development.
On September 9, 2022, Charles delivered his inaugural address. In the broadcast statement, he paid respect to his mother’s life and pledged “throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the Constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.” He also gave his eldest son, William, the title of Prince of Wales.
Charles had met with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace on September 9th. A little over a month later, she resigned as Conservative Party leader. Rishi Sunak took over as prime minister at the end of October, and Charles began conducting weekly audiences with him.