With the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, Prince Charles has finally become king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms, ending a wait of more than 70 years - the longest by an heir in British history.
Groomed from birth to be king one day, Charles Philip Arthur George was born at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 14, 1948, in the 12th year of the reign of his grandfather, King George VI.
Breaking with tradition again, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study archaeology and physical and social anthropology but later changed to history. “It seemed as if the foundation of all that we held dear in life had been torn apart irreparably,” he later said. All initially seemed well, and sons William and Harry were born in 1982 and 1984 respectively. But behind the scenes, the marriage had problems and Diana blamed Camilla for its eventual breakdown in 1992, famously saying in a TV interview: “there were three of us in this marriage”.
However, the shadow of Diana remains, and her life continues to enthral the public. In recent years, she has been the subject of a major film and Broadway musical, while the couple's relationship was at the centre of hit Netflix drama “The Crown”.With tabloids poring over his relationships, it is unsurprising that his dealings with the media have often been testy and he has made no secret of his contempt for the paparazzi.
But by actions such as founding the Duchy Originals brand to promote organic food, and saying he talked to his plants and shook hands with trees when he planted them, some media labelled him a crank who would rather be a farmer than a prince. The criticism has eased in recent years with newspapers instead turning their ire on his son Harry, but it has not gone away.
“Why do you think I've done all this for all these years?” he said in a 2021 TV interview about climate change. “Because I minded about, and always have done, the next generation.” “I would have been a blinding idiot if I hadn't paid some attention to this sort of thing. I remember thinking I'm sure there's something I can do to help,” he said.
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