Charles III

Charles first met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977 while dating her elder sister Sarah. Their relationship turned romantic in 1980, leading to their engagement in February 1981 and a televised royal wedding at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981. The marriage produced two sons: Prince William, born in 1982, and Prince Harry, born in 1984. Over time, marital strain, incompatibility, and extramarital relationships led to their legal separation in December 1992 and a formal divorce in August 1996. Following Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, Charles travelled to France with her sisters to bring her body back to the United Kingdom.

Charles married his long-time partner Camilla Parker Bowles on 9 April 2005 in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a religious blessing at St George's Chapel. The couple had first met in the 1970s and rekindled their relationship in the mid-1980s. Following the marriage, Camilla took the title of Duchess of Cornwall and later became Queen upon Charles's accession. In his public addresses as monarch, Charles has consistently praised her steadfast support.

Charles was born by caesarean section at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948 during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI. When his mother became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, Charles became the heir apparent and automatically assumed the Scottish and English titles traditionally held by the sovereign's eldest son, including Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. In 1958, he was created Prince of Wales, followed by an official investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in July 1969.

Breaking royal precedent by attending school rather than relying solely on private tutors, Charles studied at Hill House School, Cheam School, and Gordonstoun in Scotland. He also spent two terms at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Australia during 1966. In 1967, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied archaeology, anthropology, and history, graduating in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. This achievement made him the first heir to the British crown to earn a university degree.

Charles served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy between 1971 and 1976. After qualifying as a jet and helicopter pilot, he served on guided-missile destroyers and frigates before spending his final active naval service commanding the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington in 1976. He retired from active duty with the rank of Commander and later received five-star honorary ranks in all three branches of the British Armed Forces in 2012.

In 1976, Charles used his 7,500-pound naval severance pay to establish the Prince's Trust, a charity created to help disadvantaged young people and aspiring entrepreneurs. He eventually established an alliance of organisations known as the Prince's Charities and served as patron or president of more than 800 organisations, focusing on education, heritage conservation, humanitarian relief, and youth empowerment.

For decades, Charles has campaigned on urban design and environmental sustainability. In 1984, he famously criticised modernist architecture during a speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects, describing a planned addition to the National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle." He set out his architectural philosophy in the 1989 book A Vision of Britain and oversaw the development of Poundbury in Dorset, an experimental town designed around traditional architecture, pedestrian accessibility, and human scale.

An early advocate of organic agriculture and climate change action, Charles established the organic brand Duchy Originals in 1990 to market sustainably grown food, funneling profits to charitable initiatives. He has addressed multiple international environmental summits, including COP26 in Glasgow and COP28 in Dubai, urging global leaders to accelerate sustainable economic transitions. At the same time, his vocal promotion of alternative medicine and homeopathy occasionally drew criticism from the scientific and medical communities.

Charles became king on 8 September 2022 upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, making him the oldest person to ascend the British throne at age 73. His coronation took place on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey, marked by multi-faith participation, female bishops, and Celtic-language prayers. During his reign, he has undertaken state visits to Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Canada, and the United States, becoming the first British monarch to address the German Bundestag and the second to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.

In January 2024, Charles underwent a medical procedure for an enlarged prostate, leading to the discovery of an undisclosed cancer. He temporarily paused public-facing duties to undergo treatment while continuing constitutional paperwork and state affairs. In December 2025, he announced that his treatment schedule would be reduced the following year following positive medical progress. His openness regarding his diagnosis was widely viewed as a major modernising departure from royal health secrecy.