Profile of Prince Charles

Title: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
Full Name: Charles Philip Arthur George
Father: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Mother: Queen Elizabeth II
Relation to Elizabeth II: Son
Born: November 14, 1948 at Buckingham Palace, London
Current Age: 63 years, 11 months and 5 days
Married (1): Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral
Divorced: August 28, 1996
Children: Prince William, Prince Harry
Married (2): Camilla Shand Parker Bowles on April 9, 2005 at The Guildhall, Windsor

Prince Charles was born in 1948, eldest son of the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, the traditional titles for the heir to the throne, when his mother became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. He attended her coronation. Tutored by a governess until the age of 8, he attended Cheam preparatory school in Berkshire and then Gordonstoun School in Scotland where his father had been at school. He became head boy although he has said that he did not enjoy his time at school. In 1966 he spent two terms at Geelong School in Australia and visited Papua New Guinea.

On leaving school he attended Trinity College at Cambridge University where he studied anthropology and archaeology earning a BA degree. He also attended one term at University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he studied Welsh, learning enough to make his speech in Welsh during his investiture as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester at Caernarfon Castle on 1st July 1969. He became the first member of the Royal Family since George 1 to attend a British Government cabinet meeting, and expressed an interest in becoming Governor General of Australia although nothing came of this. His military career included training as a jet pilot at RAF Cranwell, and naval training at Royal Naval College Dartmouth. He qualified as a helicopter pilot joining 845 Naval Squadron operating from the commando carrier HMS Hermes, and took command of HMS Bronington a coastal minehunter.

His love life has been closely followed by the World’s press, and attachments included Lady Jane Wellesley, Davina Sheffield, Princess Marie Astrid, Lady Sarah Spencer (Diana’s elder sister), Camilla Shand (later Parker-Bowles), and Amanda Knatchbull to whom he proposed. In 1977 he met Lady Diana Spencer while visiting her family home in Althorp, and they were married on 29 July 1981 in St Paul’s Cathedral. She became Princess of Wales and soon became the star attraction of the World’s press who relentlessly followed her. Unprepared for the media hype and commitments of the royal family she fell out with other members of the family, and was allegedly unstable and temperamental. Following the birth of their two sons, Princes William and Harry, the marriage was in trouble and she allegedly had several liaisons. Charles resumed his liaison with Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles and Diana were divorced on 28 August 1996. Camilla became Charles’s companion and following her divorce they were married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on 9 April 2005 followed by a service of prayer and dedication in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. She became the Duchess of Cornwall.

Charles’s interests include architecture, inner city renewal, environmental issues and gardening. His promoted ‘green’ environmental views long before they became popular, and runs an organic farming business at his country estate in Gloucestershire with its own organic Duchy brand. He takes a keen interest in philosophy, alternative medicines, religions and visits the Greek Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos in Greece. He has paid several visits to Canada and takes an interest in the aboriginal inhabitants. He is president and patron of many charities and foundations. As well as heir to the British throne, Charles is Heir Apparent, equally and separately, to the thrones of sixteen sovereign state s known as the Commonwealth realms. He may, but not necessarily, become Head of the Commonwealth. In February 2008 he became the second oldest person in British history to be heir to the throne. If he succeeds his mother as King and uses his first name as his regnal (ruling) name he will become Charles III, however it is possible that he may take the title George VII in honour of his grandfather George VI.

Prince Charles's Signature




HRH The Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales
In a speech to the House of Commons two days after Charles’ birth, Winston Churchill remarked: Our ancient Monarchy renders inestimable services to our country and to all the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. Above the ebb and flow of party strife, the rise and fall of Ministries and individuals, the changes of public opinion and fortune, the British Monarchy presides ancient, calm and supreme within its functions, over all the treasures that have been saved from the past and all the glories we write in the annals of our country. Our thoughts go out to the mother and father and, in a special way today, to the little Prince, now born into this world of strife and storm.”


The little Prince was soon followed by a sister, Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise. She was two years younger, and was a boisterous little girl. Younger but tougher, she took after their father, Prince Philip. When she grew older, her personality was certainly that of Philip’s. Anne had a no-nonsense approach to life and often spoke her mind, although sometimes it was a bit gruff. Charles, on the other hand, was gentle and shy like his mother.


When approached by photographers, he would let them snap a few shots and offer a small ‘Hello’. Anne would not have it. If she was not in the mood to be photographed, she would crinkle her nose in disgust and hold up her hand to shoo them away. But despite different personalities, Charles and Anne were very close, bonded by the fact that they were the only children of the Queen and Prince Philip at the time and very close in age. When they were older, they even went on royal tours together, representing their mother during her reign.





Even though Charles had Anne for companionship, a large part of his life was spent in the care of nannies and his grandparents, the king and queen. While he loved and admired his parents, it was the nannies and his grannie with whom he formed personal relationships. When Charles was little, his mother was quite busy with royal duties. She was having to take on more and more as her father’s illness grew worse.


Prince Philip, meanwhile, was often away at sea as a naval officer in command of his own ship. When King George died February 6, 1952, Elizabeth succeeded him as Monarch. This was quite a change in everyone’s life, especially that of the little Prince. When she became Queen, Philip had to leave the Navy and the workload increased 100-fold for both of them. With all of that, the time for their children grew even slimmer. Everyone’s time was now being devoted to arranging royal tours to present the new Sovereign to her people. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother stepped in most times, doting on the young lad. Their bond was as strong as ever into Charles’ adulthood due to her care and devotion when he was a child.


Travel plans aside, the most important thing now was to organize Elizabeth II’s coronation. At four years old, Charles probably did not understand the significance of the grand event, but little did he realize that he was witnessing his own future.


Royal School Days


Elizabeth had ascended the throne, and Philip was now in charge of the household and the heir’s schooling.


Philip was educated at Cheam School and at Salem, a spartan and rigorous school in Southern Germany. Salem’s headmaster, Kurt Hahn, moved to Scotland to start Gordonstoun, a British version of Salem. Philip followed Hahn to Gordonstoun and was a promising student. He excelled in sport and enjoyed the challenging way of life it presented. Philip thought it fit for his son, but the sensitive and quiet Charles was of a completely different opinion.


He was not comfortable at Gordonstoun at all. Even after being there for a couple of years, life was still miserable. Charles wrote letters home complaining of the bullying:


It’s such hell here, especially at night… The people in my dormitory are foul. Goodness they are horrid… They throw slippers all night long or hit me with pillows or rush across the room and hit me as hard as they can… It’s such a HOLE this place!”


He was teased mercilessly about his ears, which was cruel to say the least. Lord Mountbatten, his great-uncle and mentor, told the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to surgically fix the problem, but to no avail. As Charles grew older though, he ‘grew into’ his ears, thus eliminating a need for surgery.


Charles spent part of the school year in 1966 as an exchange student in Melbourne, Australia – the first member of the British Royal family to attend an overseas school in the Commonwealth. He had a delightful time there, and although activities could be just as strenuous as Gordonstoun’s at times, Charles felt happy being part of a group and making friends. The boys with him at Timbertop were much nicer than in Scotland’s spartan school, and although he was much farther from home, Charles was not stricken with homesickness.


Between 1967 and 1970, the Prince read archaeology and anthropology and, for his last two years, history at the University of Cambridge. He particularly enjoyed appearing in several college revues and gaining his University Colours for polo. In 1969 he spent one summer term in Aberystwyth at the University of Wales, before his formal investiture as Prince of Wales in Caernarvon Castle on July 1 of that same year. Soon after, he graduated from Cambridge with a BA degree in 1970. He is the first Prince of Wales to obtain a university degree.


King Edward VIII, Charles’ great-uncle ‘David’, said he dreaded having to dress in the uniform of silk breeches and carry out the investiture. He claimed it was a “perposterous rig” and felt embarassed at the thought of his schoolmates seeing him in this costume. Young Edward felt he had no choice, however, and noted that it would most likely be “helpful to Papa [George V]…”. Charles, however, took the ceremony very seriously and greatly enjoyed carrying on the tradition.


The Prince of Wales took up his first Service appointment in 1969 as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Wales. He became Colonel of the Welsh Guards in 1975, succeeding his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, and now holds a number of Service appointments. He learned to fly jet aircraft and obtained his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell. In the Fall of 1971 the Prince joined the Royal Navy. He operated the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and in early 1976 he took command of the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington.


Charles had also qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1974 at the Royal Naval Air Station and joined the Naval Air Squadron on flying duties. He currently holds the rank of Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy, Major-General in the Army and Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Air Force.


Family Life


On July 29th, 1981, The Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Lady Diana was the daughter of Earl Spencer and Frances (née Roche) Spencer.


The Spencers were one of the old aristocratic families of England. Diana’s father, known as Johnnie, served as Equerry to King George VI (1950–52) and to Queen Elizabeth II for two more years. With this pedigree, Johnnie’s daughters were seen as extremely suitable for the Prince of Wales. The eldest, Sarah, dated Charles briefly in the 1970s, unknowingly ending the relationship after she spoke to openly to the press.


The Prince moved on to Sarah’s younger sister, Diana, whom he had met several years previous. When they met again at a shooting party, the 19-year-old Diana had blossomed into a lovely young lady and Charles took an interest.


Their engagement became official on February 24th, 1981. Diana wanted their July 29th wedding to be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral because Westminster Abbey would remind her too much of her parents’ marriage. Johnnie and Frances were married in the Abbey and their tumultuous relationship ended with Frances walking out. Diana was only 6 years old at the time.


Fifteen years later, Charles and Diana’s own marriage would be dissolved. However, during their union, they produced the future king, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis (“the heir”) and his brother Prince Henry Charles Albert David (“the spare”).


Charles adores his sons, and as they have grown older he has tried to keep them as safe as possible from the prying lenses of the media. He knows that their lives are of public interest, just as his has been, but Charles is very aware that things have changed since his youth. The level of press intrusion was keenly apparent during his marriage to Diana. Her death was an especially traumatic time for the Princes, and the necessity to keep the boys shielded became even more crucial.


Charles has allowed orchestrated photo sessions with his sons, but he tries as hard as he can to help retain their privacy. The Prince is supported in this endevour whole-heartedly by Her Majesty, who has since given William and Harry the task of representing the Crown abroad. The royal family hopes that the media will be satiated by the Princes at official events, rather than come after them in their private time.


In April 2005, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles. Upon marriage, Camilla officially became Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, but instead goes by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. It is the feminine form of Charles’ other title, Duke of Cornwall. This was done to circumvent any controversy in regards to the Prince of Wales’ first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales.


Camilla Rosemary (née Shand) was born July 17th, 1947. The Duchess’ parents were Major Bruce Shand and The Honorable Rosalind Cubitt.


Camilla and Charles met at a polo match in 1970. They began a relationship and Charles was soon thinking marriage. Unfortunately for the Prince, Camilla was seen by royal courtiers as an unsuitable match for the future king. Knowing this would be a huge obstacle, Charles decided to simply press on and he went overseas for military duties two years later. Camilla knew that the Prince was being pressed to give her up, so in the time he was away she married Andrew Parker Bowles.


Camilla had two children: Tom, born in 1974 and Laura, born in 1978. Charles stood as godfather to Tom and remained close to the Parker-Bowleses for many years. It was rumored that Charles and Camilla rekindled their relationship in the mid-1980s, but the Prince later explained that it had come about only “after [my] marriage had irretrievably broken down”.


Charles at Home


Charles’ home, Highgrove, was purchased for him by the Duchy of Cornwall, the hereditary estate of the Prince of Wales. The Gloucestershire home had once belonged to the son of former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.


When The Duchy of Cornwall bought Highgrove in 1980, the grounds were decidedly sparse. However, The Prince of Wales is a bit of a greenthumb and over the past 20 years has been the central figure in the transformation of the grounds into a well-renowned organic garden. It is not a grandiose area, but one of intimacy and the love of the environment.


The Prince has written a book with Charles Clover about Highgrove’s garden and how he has developed it with advice from professional garden designers. The royalties from the sale of Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming, benefit The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Foundation.

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The Details
Full Name: Charles Philip Arthur George

Titles: HRH The Prince of Wales; Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick and Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland

Date of Birth: November 14th, 1948

Residence: Highgrove Estate (Gloucestershire); Clarence House (London)

Education: Cheam Preparatory School; Gordonstoun; Geelong Grammar School (AU); Trinity College, Cambridge