Lesser-known Facts About King Charles III's Past
Prince Charles became King Charles III after his mother Queen Elizabeth II of Britain died aged 96. Here is a collection of lesser-known facts about the new king's past.
We will explore lesser-known facts like why he never traveled with Prince William on the same plane and which frog was named after him. Or when he first ordered alcohol and what gift he received from Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh when he was 21.
King Charles III became the oldest monarch to ascend the throne of Great Britain, following a reign of more than 70 years by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch.
When Prince Charles turned 70, on 14 November 2018, Time put together a collection of 70 interesting and lesser-known things about him to mark this special event. We will present below some of them.
Lesser-known Facts About King Charles III's Past
- Prince Charles was christened on 15 December by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher.
- Prince Charles became heir apparent on the death of his grandfather, George VI; Elizabeth succeeded him to the throne on 6 February 1952.
- King Charles III is currently Britain's longest-serving monarch in waiting.
- The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh decided that Prince Charles should go to school rather than have a guardian, so the Prince entered Hill House School in west London in November 1956.
- The Prince was 14 when he allegedly ordered his first alcoholic drink, a cherry brandy, during a school trip.
- The Prince of Wales spent two terms in 1966 as an exchange student in Australia. On his return to Gordonstoun, he was appointed headmaster of the school.
- In 1967, Prince Charles passed his baccalaureate exams, achieving a B in history and a C in French, along with a distinction in a special optional history paper.
- There is speculation that Prince Charles had a famous crush on Barbra Streisand in his youth.
- Prince Charles studied archaeology and anthropology in his first year before switching to history.
- While at university, Charles joined the Cambridge footlights, a well-known comedy group with dozens of famous alumni.
- Charles is the first royal heir to have obtained a university degree.
- Charles went on to study Welsh briefly at Aberystwyth University.
- The Queen and Philip gave their son an Aston Martin sports car as a 21st birthday present.
- He was invested as Prince of Wales by the Queen on 1 July 1969 at a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle, Wales.
- Charles's motto "Ich Dien" means "I serve".
- Before he became King Charles III, his full title was: His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Grand Steward of Scotland.
- In 1971, Charles began a career in the navy, after which he served on the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk and two frigates.
- The Prince qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1974, before joining the 845 Naval Air Squadron.
- In 1975, Charles became a member of the Magic Circle, a society for magicians, after passing his audition with a "cup and balls" trick.
- Charles is a patron or president of about 400 organizations.
- In 1980, Prince Charles wrote a children's book called The Old Man Of Lochnagar.
- Charles has also written books about the natural world and the environment, including Harmony and Climate Change.
- The new king once revealed to actress Julie Walters that he was a fan of the Harry Potter films.
- 750 million people worldwide watched his wedding to Diana Spencer in 1981. He and Diana had met just six months before he proposed. At 5ft 7in tall, he and Princess Diana were exactly the same height. But there was a 12-year age gap between them.
- Prince Charles broke royal tradition by encouraging Princess Diana to give birth to her sons in a hospital, rather than Buckingham Palace, and attending the births.
- About 170 regular suppliers of goods and services hold royal warrants appointing the Prince of Wales.
- In 1989, Prince Charles and John Cleese co-wrote an environmental comedy, Grimes Goes Green.
- In 1990, he launched his own food company, Duchy Originals (named after the Duchy of Cornwall). His first product was a biscuit made from wheat and oats grown organically at Home Farm in Highgrove. It also has its own brand of whisky, called Barrogill.
- Charles and Princess Diana were married for 11 years before separating in 1992 Their separation was announced in the House of Commons by Prime Minister John Major. The marriage was dissolved on 28 August 1996.
- When Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, the Prince flew to Paris with her two sisters to bring her body to London.
- Charles met his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, at a polo match in 1970, when they also fell in love. They married on 9 April. 2005, in a civil ceremony at Windsor.
- According to an unauthorized book, Charles once "screamed" and "shivered" at the sight of an unknown plastic substance covering his dinner, only to have Camilla tell him: "It's cling film, dear." The anecdote, which the family never addressed, made headlines.
- Charles earns his income from the hereditary estate of the Duchy of Cornwall, which has been given to successive princes of Wales since 1337.
- The new king now owns more than 50,000 acres of land, according to reports.
- Charles is estimated to have a fortune of around $400 million.
- Several of his vehicles have been converted to run-on wine.
- King Charles III is said to love red squirrels.
- Charles was declared the best-dressed man in the world by Esquire magazine in 2009. He beat Boris Johnson, Bill Nighy, and even Barack Obama to the top spot.
- Charles is godfather to 32 people, including Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece.
- Charles was awarded the title of "Keeper of the Cows" in Tanzania in 2011.
- Charles has a frog named after him: Hyloscirtus Princecherlesi or Prince Charles the Magnificent Tree Frog.
- Charles and Prince William never travel on the same plane lest they both die in an accident.
- Charles doesn't eat lunch. But he likes Darjeeling tea, served with milk and honey.
- As he is a pensioner, he has his own bus pass and receives a state pension.
- Charles likes "groussaka" - his version of Greek moussaka, but with mountain goose instead of lamb.
These were some of the most interesting lesser-known facts about Charles, the new King of England.
