King Charles III – the life of a royal as he becomes King
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 on Thursday, after ruling for seven decades, making her the nation’s longest-reigning monarch. Charles, as her eldest son, will become King Charles III. He was born to become King, but comes to the throne at 73 – the oldest monarch to ascend the throne in British history. From the early years to ascension, here is a gallery of King Charles III’s life.
Prince Charles visits Glasgow Central Station to view two alternative-fuel green trains on 5 November 2021. (Photo: Jane Barlow-WPA Pool / Getty Images)
Prince Charles on Downing Street, Cambridge, as he begins his term at Trinity College on 12 October 1967. (Photo: Peter Dunne / Daily Express / Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth II and Charles, Prince of Wales, travel in an open top car in Avignon during a state visit to France in May 1972. (Photo: Reg Lancaster / Express / Hulton Archive / Getty Images) Princess Diana and the future King Charles III watch an official event during their first royal Australian tour in Newcastle in 1983. (Photo: Patrick Riviere / Getty Images) Diana and Charles in a carriage in Bugac, 119km southeast of Budapest, Hungary, on 9 May 1990. (Photo: EPA / Laszlo Varga) Charles and fiancé Diana Spencer on the day their engagement was announced in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on 24 February 1981. (Photo: EPA / STR) Prince Charles kisses his bride, Lady Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on 29 July 1981, after their wedding in St Paul's Cathedral. (Photo: POOL / AFP) Princess Diana and Prince Charles with newborn Prince Harry leave St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, on 16 September 1984. (Photo: Steve Wood / Daily Express / Hulton Archive / Getty Images) The official portrait marking Prince Charles's 60th birthday, taken on 13 November 2008 in London. (Photo: Hugo Burnand-Pool / Getty Images) Prince Charles holds a pint of Guinness he has poured during a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre in London on 15 March 2022. (Photo: Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images) After meeting members of the Innovative Farmer network and viewing a Duchy Organic pop-up café in Launceston, Cornwall, Charles prepares to cut a cake to mark the occasion on 19 July 2022. (Photo: Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images) A thunderstorm failed to dampen Prince Charles's spirits on a visit to Launceston on 19 July 2022. The town is where he was proclaimed Duke of Cornwall in 1973. (Photo: Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images) The Prince of Wales speaks to a performer during a visit to the Commonwealth Games 'Festival Site' at Victoria Square in Birmingham on on 28 July 2022. (Photo: Ben Stansall-Pool / Getty Images) Known as the Duke of Rothesay while in Scotland, and Patron of the Clydesdale Horse Society, Prince Charles reacts after viewing a statue of a Clydesdale horse at the Lanark Agricultural Centre on 7 September 2022. (Photo: Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool / Getty Images) Charles unveils a plaque at the Lanark Agricultural Centre in Scotland on 7 September 2022. (Photo: Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool / Getty Images) The future king arrives during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, on 28 July 2022. (Photo: David Ramos / Getty Images) Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, leave the Service of Prayer and Dedication following their marriage at The Guildhall, Windsor Castle, on 9 April 2005. (Photo: ROTA-Pool / Getty Images) Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a visit to the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx in Cairo, Egypt, on 18 November 2021. (Photo: Joe Giddens-Pool / Getty Images) The Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales view horses from the royal box on the second day of Royal Ascot in London on 19 June 2013. (Photo released by Clarence House via Getty Images / Stephen Lock) A Maori warrior welcomes Prince Charles in a traditional ceremony at Takahanga Marae in Kaikoura, New Zealand, on 23 November 2019. (Photo: Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images) From left: Prince Charles, Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrive for the Christmas Day service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in King's Lynn on 25 December 2018. (Photo: Stephen Pond / Getty Images) From left: Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince William and Catherine at the annual evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace on 8 December 2016. (Photo: Dominic Lipinski-WPA Pool / Getty Images) From left: Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince George, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Catherine on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on 5 June 2022. (Photo: Jonathan Brady-WPA Pool / Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster on 14 October 2019. (Photo: Paul Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles study one of the first copies of 'Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Official Biography' at Birkhall, the Scottish home of the Prince and Duchess of Cornwall, on 2 September 2009. (Photo: John Stillwell-WPA Pool / Getty Images) King Charles III, then Prince Charles, during a roundtable discussion at the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation seminar to discuss allergies and the environment, at Dumfries House in Cumnock, Scotland, on 7 September 2022. (Photo: Jane Barlow-WPA Pool / Getty Images)
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-5.jpg "Prince Charles on Downing Street, Cambridge, as he begins his term at Trinity College on 12 October 1967. (Photo: Peter Dunne / Daily Express / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-4.jpg "Queen Elizabeth II and Charles, Prince of Wales, travel in an open top car in Avignon during a state visit to France in May 1972. (Photo: Reg Lancaster / Express / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-1.jpg "Princess Diana and the future King Charles III watch an official event during their first royal Australian tour in Newcastle in 1983. (Photo: Patrick Riviere / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/h_53719036.jpg "Diana and Charles in a carriage in Bugac, 119km southeast of Budapest, Hungary, on 9 May 1990. (Photo: EPA / Laszlo Varga)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/h_02798193.jpg "Charles and fiancé Diana Spencer on the day their engagement was announced in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on 24 February 1981. (Photo: EPA / STR)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/32GV9Y3-highres.jpg "Prince Charles kisses his bride, Lady Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on 29 July 1981, after their wedding in St Paul's Cathedral. (Photo: POOL / AFP)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-8.jpg "Princess Diana and Prince Charles with newborn Prince Harry leave St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, on 16 September 1984. (Photo: Steve Wood / Daily Express / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-2.jpg "The official portrait marking Prince Charles's 60th birthday, taken on 13 November 2008 in London. (Photo: Hugo Burnand-Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1239209756.jpg "Prince Charles holds a pint of Guinness he has poured during a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre in London on 15 March 2022. (Photo: Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1241995273.jpg "After meeting members of the Innovative Farmer network and viewing a Duchy Organic pop-up café in Launceston, Cornwall, Charles prepares to cut a cake to mark the occasion on 19 July 2022. (Photo: Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1241994922.jpg "A thunderstorm failed to dampen Prince Charles's spirits on a visit to Launceston on 19 July 2022. The town is where he was proclaimed Duke of Cornwall in 1973. (Photo: Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1242162620.jpg "The Prince of Wales speaks to a performer during a visit to the Commonwealth Games 'Festival Site' at Victoria Square in Birmingham on on 28 July 2022. (Photo: Ben Stansall-Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243014611.jpg "Known as the Duke of Rothesay while in Scotland, and Patron of the Clydesdale Horse Society, Prince Charles reacts after viewing a statue of a Clydesdale horse at the Lanark Agricultural Centre on 7 September 2022. (Photo: Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243015086.jpg "Charles unveils a plaque at the Lanark Agricultural Centre in Scotland on 7 September 2022. (Photo: Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1411479411.jpg "The future king arrives during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, on 28 July 2022. (Photo: David Ramos / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-3.jpg "Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, leave the Service of Prayer and Dedication following their marriage at The Guildhall, Windsor Castle, on 9 April 2005. (Photo: ROTA-Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-9.jpg "Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a visit to the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx in Cairo, Egypt, on 18 November 2021. (Photo: Joe Giddens-Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-457545169.jpg "The Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales view horses from the royal box on the second day of Royal Ascot in London on 19 June 2013. (Photo released by Clarence House via Getty Images / Stephen Lock)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1189524699.jpg "A Maori warrior welcomes Prince Charles in a traditional ceremony at Takahanga Marae in Kaikoura, New Zealand, on 23 November 2019. (Photo: Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-7.jpg "From left: Prince Charles, Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrive for the Christmas Day service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in King's Lynn on 25 December 2018. (Photo: Stephen Pond / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-6.jpg "From left: Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince William and Catherine at the annual evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace on 8 December 2016. (Photo: Dominic Lipinski-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals-10.jpg "From left: Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince George, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Catherine on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on 5 June 2022. (Photo: Jonathan Brady-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OD-KingCharles-visuals.jpg "Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster on 14 October 2019. (Photo: Paul Edwards-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-90640489.jpg "Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles study one of the first copies of 'Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Official Biography' at Birkhall, the Scottish home of the Prince and Duchess of Cornwall, on 2 September 2009. (Photo: John Stillwell-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243021929.jpg "King Charles III, then Prince Charles, during a roundtable discussion at the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation seminar to discuss allergies and the environment, at Dumfries House in Cumnock, Scotland, on 7 September 2022. (Photo: Jane Barlow-WPA Pool / Getty Images)")
Prince Charles visits Glasgow Central Station to view two alternative-fuel green trains on 5 November 2021. (Photo: Jane Barlow-WPA Pool / Getty Images)