History UsefulNotes / CharlesIII

Charles III[[note]]"His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith" in full, "Papa" or "Pa" to his sons, (formerly) "Grandpa Wales" to his grandchildren, "Umpa" to his step-grandchildren when they were younger[[/note]] (born Charles Philip Arthur George, 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace, UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is the current King of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom, as well as 14 other countries[[note]]Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu[[/note]], having acceded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, on September 8, 2022. His father was Elizabeth's consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed the previous year.

He became Prince Regent in all but name in last two years of his mother's reign, taking over important ceremonial duties such as the Opening of Parliament and Trooping the Colour as his mother became more frail.

The prospect of his actually assuming the throne was viewed with some ambivalence. For one thing, he's shown a certain taste for political meddling -- nothing major, but enough to qualify as overstepping, mostly along the lines of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_spider_memos writing letters to government ministers]] expressing his opinions on various matters at a time when monarchs with strong political views tend to be viewed with suspicion (though almost twenty years later, opinions which, for the most part, express strong environmental concern are perhaps more welcome and pertinent). For another, he's just not as beloved as his mother was (who benefited from several decades to refine her CoolOldLady factor) and his sons (who inherited Diana's charm and benefit from her halo of sainthood). Because of this, there was a relatively mild, completely illegal, but persistent, question of whether to skip him and go straight to William when the Queen died. There have even been plays written about it, and when ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' finished up, Richard Curtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King." This apparently significantly irritated Charles as, by all accounts, he ''really'' wanted to be King. Frankly, you can't really blame him for having angsted over it; he was over 70 years old at the time, an age when most people have already retired, but was still an apprentice waiting to take on his ''real'' job -- which in many respects he was born to do, and which he could only have when his mother died; wanting a job that can only be taken upon the death of a parent after so long waiting for it and knowing that that's what it will take to finally have it must be a stressor almost unique in the modern world. He was the oldest ever heir apparent in British history and the oldest person ever to accede the throne.[[note]]He wasn't the oldest ever first in line -- that would be Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who was Heiress Presumptive from the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 until her (Sophia's) death in 1714 at age 83. (Sophia could at any point have been superseded by a legitimate child of Queen Anne, though as a practical matter Anne was done having children by 1700, but the technical possibility allowed Charles to claim the title of oldest heir apparent, i.e. nobody can take his first spot in line while he lives.) The Queen would have had to live to be 105 for him to beat that record -- which was a distinct possibility, as Her Majesty seemed to be unstoppable even beyond Prince Philip's death, and death came upon her seemingly abruptly.[[/note]]

In the event you meet him, it's "Your Majesty" first and then "Sir" (not sire).

Charles III[[note]]"His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith" in full, "Papa" or "Pa" to his sons, "Grandpa Wales" to his grandchildren, "Umpa" to his step-grandchildren when they were younger[[/note]] (born Charles Philip Arthur George, 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace, UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is the current King of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom, as well as 14 other countries[[note]]Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu[[/note]], having acceded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, on September 8, 2022. His father was Elizabeth's consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed the previous year.

He's best known for his love life and the two women in it. His {{first love}} was Camilla Shand (later Parker Bowles), but he couldn't marry her at the time because she [[GoodBadGirl wasn't "appropriate"]] (read: a sheltered, blue-blooded English virgin), having committed the [[FelonyMisdemeanor heinous sin]] of sleeping with someone to whom she wasn't married. He instead married the far younger Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 (who became UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales) in what was, for all intents and purposes, a FourthDateMarriage (they'd had thirteen) and certainly became a celebrity marriage, to the point that in some circles, he's more famous as Diana's husband than as the Queen's son. He and Diana had two children, but he constantly pined after Camilla (and Diana was no stranger to affairs herself); that, along with their age difference[[note]]Almost thirteen years. At the time of their marriage, Diana was barely twenty and Charles was thirty-two. The difference only got larger over time as Charles became more settled in middle age at the same time as Diana became more outgoing and expressive.[[/note]] and growing incompatibility led to officially announcing their separation in 1992 and subsequently their divorce in 1996 (indeed, the mutual media campaign that surrounded their separation was known as "The War of the Waleses" by the contemporary press). He took a very public hit for that, as the public ''adored'' Diana, and that emotion exploded when Diana was killed in a car accident in 1997. But since then, he has gradually worked himself into the public's good graces, especially after his rather touching speech at the close of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert. He finally married Camilla in 2005, and their relationship has also undergone a positive change in the public's eye (which some attribute to the "Will and Kate effect").

Other than that, he's also known as an environmentalist, and perhaps a bit nutty and New-Agey. He apparently [[TalkingToPlants talks to plants]], which the media likes to remind everyone. But this does also give him a reputation for being environmentally progressive and remarkably prescient, in particular becoming a pioneer for organic farming (his estates even have a deal with [[UsefulNotes/BritishBusinesses Waitrose]] to supply organic products) and sustainable living at least a decade before it even entered mainstream consciousness. (Not surprisingly, he's a big fan of Creator/JRRTolkien, and [[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2022/09/king-charles-queen-elizabeth-funeral-death/671457/ an editorial]] about the Queen's death signifying the end of UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire called him the Hobbit King.) His Highgrove estate has an extensive and state-of-the-art plant-based water recycling system. The village of Poundbury, designed from the ground up to Charles' specifications, is a prototype of city planning meant to showcase means of reducing automobile usage in urban areas by designing road and building layouts around viable foot traffic while maintaining traditional architecture.

The prospect of his actually assuming the throne was viewed with some ambivalence. For one thing, he's shown a certain taste for political meddling -- nothing major, but enough to qualify as overstepping, mostly along the lines of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_spider_memos writing letters to government ministers]] expressing his opinions on various matters at a time when monarchs with strong political views tend to be viewed with suspicion (though almost twenty years later, opinions which, for the most part, express strong environmental concern are perhaps more welcome and pertinent). Though Charles acknowledged shortly before his mother's death that he was well aware how inappropriate it would be to make political statements ''as king'', self-deprecatingly saying that "even he" wouldn't do something that stupid. For another, he's just not as beloved as his mother was (who's had many decades to refine her CoolOldLady factor) and his sons (who inherited Diana's charm and benefit from her halo of sainthood). Because of this, there was a relatively mild, completely illegal, but persistent, question of whether to skip him and go straight to William when the Queen died. There have even been plays written about it, and when ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' finished up, Richard Curtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King." This apparently significantly irritated Charles as, by all accounts, he ''really'' wanted to be King. Frankly, you can't really blame him for having angsted over it; he was over 70 years old at the time, an age when most people have already retired, but was still an apprentice waiting to take on his ''real'' job -- which in many respects he was born to do, and which he could only have when his mother died; wanting a job that can only be taken upon the death of a parent after so long waiting for it and knowing that that's what it will take to finally have it must be a stressor almost unique in the modern world. He was the oldest ever heir apparent in British history and the oldest person ever to accede to the throne.[[note]]He wasn't the oldest heir ever -- that would be Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who was heiress presumptive from the accession of Queen Anne in 1702, until Sophia predeceased Anne in 1714 at age 83. (Sophia could at any point have been superseded by a legitimate child of Anne, though as a practical matter, Anne was done having children by 1700, but the technical possibility allowed Charles to claim the title of oldest heir ''apparent'', i.e. nobody could take his first spot in line while he lives.) The Queen would have had to have lived to be 105 for him to beat that record -- which was a distinct possibility, as Her Majesty seemed to be unstoppable even beyond Prince Philip's death, and death came upon her seemingly abruptly.[[/note]]

He became something of an unofficial regent in the last two years of his mother's reign, taking over important ceremonial duties such as the opening of Parliament and Trooping the Colour as his mother became more frail.

It was widely conjectured that when he became King, he would not use 'Charles' as his regnal name due to a widespread stigma attached to the name: Charles I was a highly unpopular monarch with a turbulent reign (he was even executed, an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar); Charles II, while much more popular and having a relatively more stable reign, was also widely known for his philandering, which for reasons already well-known by this point ''this'' Charles would ''really'' like to avoid; and "Charles III" was also the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie"]]. The rumour was that he would take the name George VII, in honour of his grandfather. In the end he went with Charles III, probably because after his mother's 70 years on the throne it was the only name people knew him by.

* The Netflix series ''Series/TheCrown2016'', which dramatises the reign of his mother, shows his childhood sparsely in Series 1 and 2, and focuses on his relationship with Diana in Series 3, 4 and 5. In Series 3 and 4 he's played by Creator/JoshOConnor, and for Series 5 and 6, Creator/DominicWest was cast. As Series 5 was released shortly after Charles ascended the throne, this led to a lot of jokes about [[Series/TheWire Jimmy McNulty]] playing the King. (It doesn't help that Dominic West doesn't seem to have aged a day since 2004.)

* The Netflix series ''Series/TheCrown2016'', which dramatises the reign of his mother, shows his childhood sparsely in Series 1 and 2, and focuses on his relationship with Diana in Series 3, 4 and 5. In Series 3 and 4 he's played by Creator/JoshOConnor, and for Series 5 and 6, Creator/DominicWest was cast.

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Theatre]]

The prospect of his actually assuming the throne was viewed with some ambivalence. For one thing, he's shown a certain taste for political meddling -- nothing major, but enough to qualify as overstepping, mostly along the lines of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_spider_memos writing letters to government ministers]] expressing his opinions on various matters at a time when monarchs with strong political views tend to be viewed with suspicion (though almost twenty years later, opinions which, for the most part, express strong environmental concern are perhaps more welcome and pertinent). Though Charles acknowledged shortly before his mother's death that he was well aware how inappropriate it would be to make political statements ''as king'', self-deprecatingly saying that "even he" wouldn't do something that stupid. For another, he's just not as beloved as his mother was (who's had many decades to refine her CoolOldLady factor) and his sons (who inherited Diana's charm and benefit from her halo of sainthood). Because of this, there was a relatively mild, but persistent, question of whether to skip him and go straight to William when the Queen died. There have even been plays written about it, and when ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' finished up, Richard Curtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King." This apparently significantly irritated Charles as, by all accounts, he ''really'' wanted to be King. Frankly, you can't really blame him for having angsted over it; he was over 70 years old at the time, an age when most people have already retired, but was still an apprentice waiting to take on his ''real'' job -- which in many respects he was born to do, and which he could only have when his mother died; wanting a job that can only be taken upon the death of a parent after so long waiting for it and knowing that that's what it will take to finally have it must be a stressor almost unique in the modern world. He was the oldest ever heir apparent in British history and the oldest person ever to accede to the throne.[[note]]He wasn't the oldest heir ever -- that would be Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who was heiress presumptive from the accession of Queen Anne in 1702, until Sophia predeceased Anne in 1714 at age 83. (Sophia could at any point have been superseded by a legitimate child of Anne, though as a practical matter, Anne was done having children by 1700, but the technical possibility allowed Charles to claim the title of oldest heir ''apparent'', i.e. nobody could take his first spot in line while he lives.) The Queen would have had to have lived to be 105 for him to beat that record -- which was a distinct possibility, as Her Majesty seemed to be unstoppable even beyond Prince Philip's death, and death came upon her seemingly abruptly.[[/note]]

* In 1994's ''Film/LaCiteDeLaPeur'', bodyguard Serge Karamazov claims that [[AnythingThatMoves he's had sex with everyone he's guarded]], [[HistoryWithACelebrity including Prince Charles]].

* In 1994's ''Film/LaCiteDeLaPeur'', bodyguard Serge Karamazov claims that [[AnythingThatMoves he's had sex with everyone he's guarded]], including Prince Charles.

** With Prince being in his Love Symbol #2 period at the time, the bout is described as "The artist formerly known as Prince versus the Prince formerly known as Charles.

Prior to his accession, Charles was the longest-serving Prince of Wales, holding the title from 1958 to 2022 (surpassing Edward VII's long tenure by 5 years) and the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay from 1952 to 2022 (The latter two titles are automatically given to the heir to the throne, while the title Prince of Wales is given at the sovereign's discretion, usually when the heir to the throne comes of age).[[note]]He was born Prince Charles of Edinburgh, as his mother was not yet queen -- and technically, he was ''not'' entitled to a princely title or "Royal Highness" style because he was a female-line grandson of the sovereign, but his grandfather George VI issued letters patent circumventing this, as it was very clear by this point that Elizabeth would be queen. He was eligible to become Prince of Wales as soon as his mother became queen, but she held off on giving him the title until 1958, while the formal investiture was held shortly before his 21st birthday, as a way of ensuring he knew what he was committing to.[[/note]] %% Charles was invested Prince of Wales in July 1969.

* Referenced in ''Series/TheVow'' when Catherine Oxenberg, desperate to rescue her daughter India from the cult NXIVM, calls up her mother Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and asks her to call up "[[FirstNameBasis Charles]]" to ask him to intercede with the Dalai Lama on her behalf, explaining offhandedly that her mother is his second cousin. The King and Princess Elizabeth actually have a very good relationship.

Charles III[[note]](Full title: His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith)[[/note]] (born Charles Philip Arthur George, 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace, UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is the current King of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom, as well as 14 other countries[[note]]Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu[[/note]], having acceded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, on September 8, 2022. His father was Elizabeth's consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed the previous year.

Prior to his accession, Charles was the longest-serving Prince of Wales, holding the title from 1958 to 2022 and surpasing Edward VII's long tenure by 5 years, and the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay from 1952 to 2022 (The latter two titles are automatically given to the heir to the throne, while the title Prince of Wales is given at the sovereign's discretion, usually when the heir to the throne comes of age).[[note]]He was born Prince Charles of Edinburgh, as his mother was not yet queen -- and technically, he was ''not'' entitled to a princely title or "Royal Highness" style because he was a female-line grandson of the sovereign, but his grandfather George VI issued letters patent circumventing this, as it was very clear by this point that Elizabeth would be queen. He was eligible to become Prince of Wales as soon as his mother became queen, but she held off on giving him the title until 1958, while the formal investiture was held shortly before his 21st birthday, as a way of ensuring he knew what he was committing to.[[/note]] %% Charles was invested Prince of Wales in July 1969.

Prior to his accession, Charles was the Prince of Wales from 1958 to 2022, and the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay from 1952 to 2022 (The latter two titles are automatically given to the heir to the throne, while the title Prince of Wales is given at the sovereign's discretion, usually when the heir to the throne comes of age).[[note]]He was born Prince Charles of Edinburgh, as his mother was not yet queen -- and technically, he was ''not'' entitled to a princely title or "Royal Highness" style because he was a female-line grandson of the sovereign, but his grandfather George VI issued letters patent circumventing this, as it was very clear by this point that Elizabeth would be queen. He was eligible to become Prince of Wales as soon as his mother became queen, but she held off on giving him the title until 1958, while the formal investiture was held shortly before his 21st birthday, as a way of ensuring he knew what he was committing to.[[/note]] %% Charles was invested Prince of Wales in July 1969.

The prospect of his actually assuming the throne was viewed with some ambivalence. For one thing, he's shown a certain taste for political meddling -- nothing major, but enough to qualify as overstepping, mostly along the lines of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_spider_memos writing letters to government ministers]] expressing his opinions on various matters at a time when monarchs with strong political views tend to be viewed with suspicion (though almost twenty years later, opinions which, for the most part, express strong environmental concern are perhaps more welcome and pertinent). For another, he's just not as beloved as his mother was (who's had many decades to refine her CoolOldLady factor) and his sons (who inherited Diana's charm and benefit from her halo of sainthood). Because of this, there was a relatively mild, but persistent, question of whether to skip him and go straight to William when the Queen died. There have even been plays written about it, and when ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' finished up, Richard Curtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King." This apparently significantly irritated Charles as, by all accounts, he ''really'' wanted to be King. Frankly, you can't really blame him for having angsted over it; he was over 70 years old at the time, an age when most people have already retired, but was still an apprentice waiting to take on his ''real'' job -- which in many respects he was born to do, and which he could only have when his mother died; wanting a job that can only be taken upon the death of a parent after so long waiting for it and knowing that that's what it will take to finally have it must be a stressor almost unique in the modern world. He was the oldest ever heir apparent in British history and the oldest person ever to accede to the throne.[[note]]He wasn't the oldest heir ever -- that would be Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who was heiress presumptive from the accession of Queen Anne in 1702, until Sophia predeceased Anne in 1714 at age 83. (Sophia could at any point have been superseded by a legitimate child of Anne, though as a practical matter, Anne was done having children by 1700, but the technical possibility allowed Charles to claim the title of oldest heir ''apparent'', i.e. nobody could take his first spot in line while he lives.) The Queen would have had to have lived to be 105 for him to beat that record -- which was a distinct possibility, as Her Majesty seemed to be unstoppable even beyond Prince Philip's death, and death came upon her seemingly abruptly.[[/note]]

Charles III[[note]](Full title: His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith)[[/note]] (born Charles Philip Arthur George, 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace, UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is the current King of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom, having acceded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, on September 8, 2022. His father was Elizabeth's consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed the previous year.

* Alex Jennings plays him in ''Film/TheQueen'', which focuses on how his mother dealt with the aftermath of Princess Diana's death and her relationship with the then-new Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TonyBlair.

* Alex Jennings plays him in ''Film/TheQueen'', which focuses on how his mother dealt with the aftermath of Lady Diana's death and her relationship with the then-new Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TonyBlair.

Prior to his accession, Charles served as the Prince of Wales from 1958 to 2022, and as the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay from 1952 to 2022 (The latter two titles are automatically given to the heir to the throne, while the Principality of Wales is invested at the Sovereign's discretion, usually when the heir to the throne comes of age).[[note]]He was briefly Prince Charles of Edinburgh, as his mother was not yet queen when he was born -- and technically, he was ''not'' entitled to the style His Royal Highness or the title of Prince because he was a female-line grandson of the Sovereign, but George VI issued letters patent circumventing this, as it was very clear by this point that Elizabeth would be Queen. He was in fact eligible to be Prince of Wales as soon as his mother became Queen, but she held off on the investiture until shortly before his 21st birthday, as a way of ensuring he knew what he was committing to.[[/note]] %% Charles was invested Prince of Wales in July 1969.

He's best known for his love life and the two women in it. His {{first love}} was Camilla Shand (later Parker Bowles), but he couldn't marry her at the time because she [[GoodBadGirl wasn't "appropriate"]] (read: a sheltered, blue-blooded English virgin), having committed the [[FelonyMisdemeanor heinous sin]] of sleeping with someone to whom she wasn't married. He instead married the far younger Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 (becoming UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales) in what was, for all intents and purposes, a FourthDateMarriage (they'd had thirteen) and certainly became a celebrity marriage, to the point that in some circles, he's more famous as Diana's husband than as the Queen's son. He and Diana had two children, but he constantly pined after Camilla (and Diana was no stranger to affairs herself); that, along with their age difference[[note]]Almost thirteen years. At the time of their marriage, Diana was barely twenty and Charles was thirty-two. The difference only got larger over time as Charles became more settled in middle age at the same time as Diana became more outgoing and expressive.[[/note]] and growing incompatibility led to officially announcing their separation in 1992 and subsequently their divorce in 1996 (indeed, the mutual media campaign that surrounded their separation was known as "The War of the Waleses" by the contemporary press). He took a very public hit for that, as the public ''adored'' Diana, and that emotion exploded when Diana was killed in a car accident in 1997. But since then, he has gradually worked himself into the public's good graces, especially after his rather touching speech at the close of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert. He finally married Camilla in 2005, and their relationship has also undergone a positive change in the public's eye (which some attribute to the "Will and Kate effect").

[[folder: Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/KingCharlesIII'' is a speculative fiction play centered around the death of his mother and his ascension to the throne, eight years before that actually happened in real life. Notable for being written entirely in iambic pentameter blank verse in a very obvious homage to Shakespearean history plays.

[[folder:Theatre]]

* He doesn't appear in 2013's ''Diana'' (with Creator/NaomiWatts) since it focuses on Diana's post-divorce life, but he is mentioned.

* The 2005 TV film ''Whatever Love Means'' depicts the early years of his relationship with Camilla in the 1970s, with Charles being played by Laurence Fox.

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