KING CHARLES III, THE BRITISH ROYAL HEIR WHO BECOMES KING AT 73 

Did you know that King Charles III was the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, the longest-serving Prince of Wales until his accession, and the oldest person ever to assume the British throne at the age of 73?

Queen Elizabeth II gave birth to Prince Charles Philip Arthur George on 14 November 1948 inside Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather George VI, when his father Philip and the Queen were the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The death of his grandfather and the accession of his mother as Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 made Charles the heir apparent. 

As the monarch's eldest son, he automatically assumed the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. Charles attended his mother's coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. As Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay from 1952 to his accession, he was the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, and the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held the title from 26 July 1958 until his accession. At the time of his assumption, Charles was also the oldest person ever to assume the British throne at the age of 73.

Philip and Elizabeth, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, got married a year before the birth of Charles. They are also the parents of Prince Andrew, Princess Royal Anne, and Prince Edward. As was customary for upper-class children at the time, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed to be responsible for early education at Buckingham Palace for him and his younger siblings, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. 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.

Charles 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. 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.

Charles broke royal tradition a second time when he proceeded straight to university after his A-levels, rather than joining the British Armed Forces. In October 1967, he was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read archaeology and anthropology for the first part of the Tripos, and then changed to history for the second part. During his second year, Charles attended the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, studying Welsh history and language for a term. 

He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a 2:2 Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree on 23 June 1970, the first British heir apparent to earn a university degree. On 2 August 1975, he was awarded a Master of Arts (MA Cantab) degree by Cambridge. At Cambridge, Master of Arts is an academic rank, not a postgraduate degree.

From 1971 to 1976, Prince Charles underwent a duty tour during his time at the Royal Navy. He has since been involved in charity work. In 1976, he created The Prince’s Trust, an organization that helps both kids and adults facing difficulties at school or with employment. However, it is arguable that he is better known for his private life over his charity work.Even so, not a lot of people know that he and Camilla Parker Bowles dated even before he met Lady Diana! Two royal biographies claim that the royal family did not think that Camilla would be a suitable bride for him. Charles and Camilla called it quits, after which the prince walked down the aisle with Diana at St. Paul’s Cathedral on the 29th of July 1981. 

Less than a year after that, Diana welcomed their first child into the world. Prince William was born on the 21st of June 1982! Two years after this happened, they welcomed another son. Prince Harry was born on the 15th of September 1984. When Harry and William were growing up, Diana made sure to provide her royal children some semblance of normalcy and an awareness of their privilege.

Prior to acceding to the British throne, opinion polls put Charles's popularity with the British people at 42 per cent, with a 2019 BMG Research poll finding that 46 percent of Britons wanted Charles to abdicate immediately upon accession to the throne, in favour of William. However, a 2021 opinion poll reported that 60 percent of the British public had a favourable opinion of him.

For nearly 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II had reigned as the monarch of the United Kingdom until her death on Thursday, 8 September 2022, that led to Charles accession to the throne as King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was the longest-serving British heir apparent, surpassing Edward VII's record on 20 April 2011. When he became monarch at the age of 73, he was the oldest person to do so, the previous record holder being William IV, who was 64 when he became king in 1830.

There had been speculation as to what regnal name Charles would choose upon his succession to the throne. In 2005, it was reported that Charles had suggested he might 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. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Clarence House confirmed that Charles would use the regnal name "Charles III".

The King gave his first speech to the nation on 9 September 2022 at 18:00 BST, in which he mourned his late mother and proclaimed his son William the Prince of Wales. On 10 September 2022, Charles was publicly proclaimed King by the Accession Council. The ceremony was televised for the first time. Attendees included William, Prince of Wales, Queen Camilla, and former British prime ministers Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Lady (Theresa) May and Boris Johnson.