London – With Death of Queen Elizabeth II, his first son Charles ascended the throne. Charles, 73, has been the Prince of Wales for the longest time in the history of the United Kingdom’s monarchy – a title reserved for future British kings.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday that the new monarch will be known as King Charles III.
“The death of my beloved mother Her Majesty the Queen is a moment of great sadness for me and all members of my family.” Charles said in the statement.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear Sovereign and much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt by countless people across the country, kingdoms and Commonwealth and around the world. In this time of mourning and change, my family and I wish the Queen so much we will be comforted and supported by the knowledge of the respect and deep love with which he is surrounded.”
Charles was in many ways the first modern heir to the British throne: He was sent to school rather than privately tutored at court, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree at Cambridge.
The young prince later served in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, posting to several warships in the 1970s.
But as CBS News’ Mark Phillips reports, Prince Charles’ role up to this meaningful point has largely been an exercise in waiting and playing a part while doing so.
Charles’ rocky, mission-critical love life
Charles’ public life was defined in many ways by the women he shared it with. From an early age, the most important task of the boy-to-be king was to find a wife and raise future heirs.
Lady Diana Spencer seemed the perfect partner, although there were hints of trouble to come from the start. He was 32, she was 20, and their wedding was a spectacle in the world’s media.
Two sons, Princes William and then Harry, took over.
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However, it became clear to the world that the royal couple was not happy together. More and more photos showed them looking distant, with the tabloids labeling them “Glums”.
Prince Charles has often unwittingly played the villain for a voracious tabloid press in his highly publicized divorce drama.
Asked after the split whether she thought Charles’ long-time confidant and love Camilla Parker Bowles had caused a breakdown in their relationship, Diana replied: ‘There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit tight. “
When Diana died in a car accident in Paris in 1997, Charles’s public image was generally damaged. It took years for the prince to emerge from under the cloud of being seen as a devoted father to his two grieving sons.
But he came out and even married Camilla in 2005 in England in the first non-religious civil ceremony for a British monarch.
In early 2022, Queen Elizabeth II herself declined to dwell on her intentions, saying that when Charles becomes king, her “sincere wish is that when that time comes, Camilla Known as the Queen Consort For continuing his loyal service to Britain.
Charles said in a statement that he and Camilla were “deeply conscious of the honor represented by my mother’s wish”.
“Drunken” pursuits of the prince
After his wife and future heirs were settled, Prince Charles focused his efforts on various charities and other causes he supported – not all of them very popular ventures in their day.
“I guess I’ve spent most of my life proposing and initiating things that very few people see the point of or, frankly, find annoying,” he said in 2016. Is this a vantage point in all this apparent madness?”
The mockery of the man who would become known as King Charles III was both a display of his characteristic wry sense of humor and an unquestionably permissible modesty for a king who was ahead of many in embracing concepts such as organic farming, conservation and conservation. the urgency of combating climate change.
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She has continued to be a passionate advocate through her philanthropic work for everything from environmental protection to community empowerment. The Prince of Wales has been patron or president of more than 400 charities.
“I felt myself born into this particular position,” he once told an interviewer. “I’m determined to make the most of it and do what I can to help and hopefully leave things better than I found them.”
Princes and presidents
Prince Charles is no stranger to the corridors of power across the Atlantic. He visited Washington at least 20 times and met with all American presidents after Jimmy Carter.
He met with President Biden at the COP26 climate conference in Scotland in November 2021. Mr. Biden praised the prince for his leadership on environmental issues and reportedly told her, “We need you so much … and I’m not just saying that,” praising Charles for “going all out.”
During former President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK in 2019, Charles was supposed to sit down with the American leader for about 15 minutes, but they spoke for an hour and a half.
Trump later said the prince was “doing most of the talking,” but he described the heir to the British throne as a “very good person” who is “really passionate about climate change.”
“What moved me was his passion for future generations,” Trump said. “He wants to ensure that future generations have a good climate as opposed to a disaster, and I agree.”
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In 2015, Charles met then-President Barack Obama for the second time during his three-day visit to the United States. In the Oval Office, Obama commented that the American people “love the royal family a lot” and even suggested they “like them more than their politicians.”
“I do not believe it,” replied the king.
