Charles III: A Life in Pictures

Prince Charles with his mother, Princess Elizabeth, in December 1948, about a month after his birth.

Prince Charles celebrating his third birthday with his sister, Princess Anne, and maternal grandparents, King George VI and Queen Consort Elizabeth, in 1951. The king would die the following year, making Charles the heir apparent as his mother became Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Charles (right foreground) arriving at the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun with his father, Philip, duke of Edinburgh (second from left), in 1962. Philip allegedly hoped his alma mater would toughen up his sensitive son. Reportedly bullied, Charles later described his time at the school as a “prison sentence,” but he also credited it with developing his “willpower and self-control.” He was the first heir apparent not to be educated by private tutors.

Elizabeth II placing a coronet on the head of Prince Charles during his investiture as prince of Wales on July 1, 1969. The BBC aired the ceremony, and an estimated 519 million people watched it on television.

Prince Charles after graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1970. The prince, who had studied archaeology and history, became the first royal heir to earn a university degree.

Prince Charles receiving helicopter pilot training in 1974. He served with the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976, when he left to become a “working royal.”

Prince Charles talking to Camilla Shand at a polo match in 1975. The couple had first met five years earlier, and they dated before eventually breaking up. Although Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, she and Charles remained close.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles returning to Buckingham Palace, London, after their wedding on July 29, 1981. The couple’s marriage would be turbulent, and it had a lasting impact on the British monarchy.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles following the birth of their first son, Prince William, in June 1982. In a break with royal tradition, William was born at a hospital (St. Mary’s in London). The couple’s second son, Prince Harry, was also born there, in September 1984.

In January 1993 the Australian weekly New Idea became the first media outlet to print a transcript of an intimate phone call between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles; the two had reportedly resumed their relationship in 1986. The resulting scandal would contribute to the demise of both their marriages. Parker Bowles would divorce in 1995 and Prince Charles the following year.

(From left, foreground) Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Charles Spencer, Prince William, and Philip, duke of Edinburgh, watching as the casket of Princess Diana is carried into Westminster Abbey, London, on September 6, 1997. The death of the princess caused an unprecedented outpouring of grief, and the royal family was widely criticized for its perceived indifference in its initial handling of the tragedy.

Prince Charles (center) on a ski vacation with his sons, Prince Harry (left) and Prince William, in March 2005. His relationship with Harry would later become strained. In 2018 Harry married Meghan Markle, a biracial actress from the United States, and two years later the couple stopped being working royals amid allegations of racist media coverage and tensions with the royal family.

Prince Charles and Camilla, duchess of Cornwall, leaving St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on April 9, 2005, after having their marriage blessed during a ceremony in which they also apologized for previous mistakes. Earlier in the day, the couple were married in a civil service. Although Charles’s parents were present at the blessing, they did not attend the civil service.

Camilla, duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Charles planting a tree during a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in 2011. Environmentalism was of particular concern to the prince, and he often spoke out about the issue.

Charles III at his accession ceremony, with Camilla, queen consort of the United Kingdom, and Prince William (left), on September 10, 2022. Two days earlier Elizabeth II had died at the age of 96. Upon her death, Charles immediately became king.

Charles III (centre) in a vigil at Elizabeth II's coffin in St. Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, on September 12, 2022. Her state funeral was held a week later.