History UsefulNotes / CharlesIII

It was long conjectured that when he did become King, he might not have used Charles as his regnal name.[[note]]Although there have only been three monarchs since 1066 who did not reign under their first given name: Victoria, who disliked and did not use her first name Alexandrina; her son Edward VII who chose not to use his first name of Albert in order to let his father the Prince Consort "stand alone", and his grandson, George VI, who was also Albert and known as Bertie like his grandpa, but went with George in honour of his father, George V, and to provide some continuity after the shock of his brother Edward VIII's abdication. It's far less of a "tradition" than people think.[[/note]] There was a perceived stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was beheaded (an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar) and Charles II is best remembered for having fathered illegitimate children by several mistresses. Also, "Charles III" was the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender to the throne also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie"]]. The rumour was that he would take the name George VII, in honour of his grandfather. Others hoped that he would use one of his other names as his regnal name and become [[AwesomeMcCoolname King Arthur]]. 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 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 become a national symbol in her own right) 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, Creator/RichardCurtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King."[[note]]Somewhat ironically, Elizabeth ended up outliving most of that show's regular cast, with the exceptions of Creator/DawnFrench and James Fleet.[[/note]] 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]]

It was long conjectured that when he did become King, he might not have used Charles as his regnal name [[note]] Although there have only been three monarchs since 1066 who did not reign under their first given name: Victoria, who disliked and did not use her first name Alexandrina; her son Edward VII who chose not to use his first name of Albert in order to let his father the Prince Consort "stand alone", and his grandson, George VI, who was also Albert and known as Bertie like his grandpa, but went with George in honour of his father, George V, and to provide some continuity after the shock of his brother Edward VIII's abdication. It's far less of a "tradition" than people think[[/note]]. There was a perceived stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was beheaded (an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar) and Charles II is best remembered for having fathered illegitimate children by several mistresses. Also, "Charles III" was the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender to the throne also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie"]]. The rumour was that he would take the name George VII, in honour of his grandfather. Others hoped that he would use one of his other names as his regnal name and become [[AwesomeMcCoolname King Arthur]]. 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.

For all that he is seen as/really is a New Agey environmentalist and old-school aristocrat, his tenure as Prince of Wales showed him to be made of the stuff of an entrepreneur-philanthropist. On the entrepreneur front, his aforementioned deal with Waitrose is just the most obvious of his canny leveraging of the Duchy of Cornwall to his profit. Poundbury also produces good rents for the Duchy, and Charles is noted to have been a good husbandman of the Duchy's other large realty holdings. As to philanthropy, he established The Prince's Trust in 1976 to support programmes for disadvantaged and at-risk youths across the UK. In this endeavour the Trust -- funded heavily from the Duchy of Cornwall and the then-Prince's other private revenues -- is seen as remarkably successful and well-regarded even in otherwise anti-royalist circles.

For all that he is seen as/really is a New Agey environmentalist and old-school aristocrat, his tenure as Prince of Wales showed him to be made of the stuff of an entrepreneur-philanthropist. On the entrepreneur front, his aforementioned deal with Waitrose is just the most obvious of his canny leveraging of the Duchy of Cornwall to his profit. Poundbury also produces good rents for the Duchy, and Charles is noted to have been a good husbandman of the Duchy's other large realty holdings. As to philanthropy, he established The Prince's Trust in 1976 to support programmes for disadvantaged and at-risk youths across the UK. In this endeavour the Trust--funded heavily from the Duchy of Cornwall and the then-Prince's other private revenues--is seen as remarkably successful and well-regarded even in otherwise anti-royalist circles.

He's best known for his love life and the two major women in it. His {{first love}} was Camilla Shand (later Parker Bowles), who had dated several men and essentially cohabited with the man she later married, Andrew Parker Bowles. He instead later married the far younger, sheltered, and virginal [[UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales Lady Diana Spencer]] in 1981 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 former husband than as the King. He and Diana had two sons, William and Harry, 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 20 and Charles was 32. 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. Say what you will about ''Series/TheCrown''--and people have said plenty--Creator/PeterMorgan hit the nail on the head with the words he put in Princess Anne's mouth: that Charles "[was] older than his years, and Diana [was] younger than hers."[[/note]] and fundamental incompatibility and inability to support each other led to their divorce in 1996, after years of open warfare in the tabloids and other media. He took a very public hit for that, as the public ''adored'' Diana, and although they finally seemed to be heading towards AmicableExes, 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").

Owing to intermarriage among the royal families of UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}, he is related to all [[UsefulNotes/OtherRoyalFamilies other reigning hereditary monarchs in Europe]]. He is second cousin once removed to both King Harald V of Norway and King Felipe VI of Spain, third cousin to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, third cousin once removed to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Philippe of Belgium, and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, fifth cousin to both King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, and the fifth cousin once removed to [[UsefulNotes/TheMonegasqueRoyalFamily Prince Albert II of Monaco]].

* ''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.

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

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]]. Known for most of his life as "Prince Charles", he 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. His coronation happened on May 6, 2023, a little under one month shy of the 70th anniversary of his mother's own.

He's best known for his love life and the two women in it. His {{first love}} was Camilla Shand (later Parker Bowles), who had dated several men and essentially cohabited with the man she later married, Andrew Parker Bowles. He instead later married the far younger, sheltered, and virginal [[UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales Lady Diana Spencer]] in 1981 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 former husband than as the King. He and Diana had two sons, William and Harry, 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 20 and Charles was 32. 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. Say what you will about ''Series/TheCrown''--and people have said plenty--Creator/PeterMorgan hit the nail on the head with the words he put in Princess Anne's mouth: that Charles "[was] older than his years, and Diana [was] younger than hers."[[/note]] and fundamental incompatibility and inability to support each other led to their divorce in 1996, after years of open warfare in the tabloids and other media. He took a very public hit for that, as the public ''adored'' Diana, and although they finally seemed to be heading towards AmicableExes, 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").

It was widely conjectured that when he became King, he would not use Charles as his regnal name [[note]] which he would have been within his rights to do, as the first thing a new British monarch has to decide is which name to use; his grandfather, George VI, was actually called Albert but went with George in honour of his father, George V [[/note]]. There was a perceived stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was beheaded (an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar) and Charles II is best remembered for having fathered illegitimate children by several mistresses. Also, "Charles III" was the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender to the throne also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie"]]. The rumour was that he would take the name George VII, in honour of his grandfather. Others hoped that he would use one of his other names as his regnal name and become [[AwesomeMcCoolname King Arthur]]. 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.

He's known to have quite the sense of humour and to be fond of [[BritishHumour British comedy]]. When attending galas like the Royal Variety Performance and We Are Most Amused, he's among those laughing the hardest, even at jokes at his own expense. He's the world's highest-ranking fan of ''Creator/MontyPython'' (and their forerunner ''Radio/TheGoonShow''). The former is appropriate as his coronation not only featured an orb that was immediately compared to the Holy Hand Grenade on social media, but also featured a 'strange woman' (Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons[[note]]She has the former job because UsefulNotes/LizTruss felt compelled to give her the latter and UsefulNotes/RishiSunak couldn't think of anything better to do with her after he took over[[/note]] Penny Mordaunt) with a sword.

It was widely conjectured that when he became King, he would not use Charles as his regnal name [[note]] which he would have been within his rights to do, as the first thing a new British monarch has to decide is which name to use; his grandfather, George VI, was actually called Albert but went with George in honour of his father, George V [[/note]]. There was a perceived stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was beheaded (an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar) and Charles II is best remembered for having fathered illegitimate children by several mistresses. Also, "Charles III" was the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender to the throne 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.

It was widely conjectured that when he became King, he would not use Charles as his regnal name [[note]] which he would have been within his rights to do, as the first thing a new British monarch has to decide is which name to use; his grandfather, George VI, was actually called Albert but went with George in honour of his father, George VI [[/note]]. There was a perceived stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was beheaded (an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar) and Charles II is best remembered for having fathered illegitimate children by several mistresses. Also, "Charles III" was the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender to the throne 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.

It was widely conjectured that when he became King, he would not use ‘Charles’ as his regnal name. There's a widespread stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was a highly unpopular monarch (he was even executed, an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar); "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.

He's known to have quite the sense of humour and to be fond of [[BritishHumour British comedy]]. When attending galas like the Royal Variety Performance and We Are Most Amused, he's among those laughing the hardest, even at jokes at his own expense. He's the world's highest-ranking fan of ''Creator/MontyPython'' (and their forerunner ''Radio/TheGoonShow''). The former is appropriate as his coronation not only featured an orb that was immediately compared to the Holy Hand Grenade on social media, but also featured a 'strange woman' (Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt) with a sword.

He's best known for his love life and the two women in it. His {{first love}} was Camilla Shand (later Parker Bowles), who had dated several men and essentially cohabited with the man she later married, Andrew Parker Bowles. He instead later married the far younger, sheltered, and virginal [[UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales Lady Diana Spencer]] in 1981 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 former husband than as the King. He and Diana had two sons, William and Harry, 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 20 and Charles was 32. 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. Say what you will about ''Series/TheCrown''--and people have said plenty--Creator/PeterMorgan hit the nail on the head with the words he put in Princess Anne's mouth: that Charles "is older than his years, and Diana is younger than hers."[[/note]] and fundamental incompatibility and inability to support each other led to their divorce in 1996, after years of open warfare in the tabloids and other media. He took a very public hit for that, as the public ''adored'' Diana, and although they finally seemed to be heading towards AmicableExes, 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").

* He doesn't appear in 2013's ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1758595/ Diana]]'' (with Creator/NaomiWatts) since it focuses on Diana's post-divorce life, but he is mentioned.

Owing to intermarriage among the royal families of Europe, he is related to all [[UsefulNotes/OtherRoyalFamilies other reigning hereditary monarchs in Europe]]. He is second cousin once removed to both King Harald V of Norway and King Felipe VI of Spain, third cousin to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, third cousin once removed to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Philippe of Belgium, and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, fifth cousin to both King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, and the fifth cousin once removed to [[UsefulNotes/TheMonegasqueRoyalFamily Prince Albert II of Monaco]].

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. His coronation happened on May 6, 2023, a little under one month shy of the 70th anniversary of his mother's own.

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, Creator/RichardCurtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King."[[note]]Somewhat ironically, Elizabeth ended up outliving most of that show's regular cast, with the exceptions of Creator/DawnFrench and James Fleet.[[/note]] 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]]

For all that he is seen as/really is a New Agey environmentalist and old-school aristocrat, his tenure as Prince of Wales showed him to be made of the stuff of an entrepreneur-philanthropist. On the entrepreneur front, his aforementioned deal with Waitrose is just the most obvious of his canny leveraging of the Duchy of Cornwall to his profit. Poundbury also produces good rents for the Duchy, and Charles is noted to have been a good husbandman of the Duchy's other large realty holdings. As to philanthropy, he established The Prince's Trust in 1976 to support programmes for at-risk youths. In this endeavour the Trust--funded heavily from the Duchy of Cornwall and the then-Prince's other private revenues--is seen as remarkably successful and well-regarded even in otherwise anti-royalist circles.

For all that he was seen as/really was a New Agey environmentalist and old-school aristocrat, his tenure as Prince of Wales showed him to be made of the stuff of an entrepreneur-philanthropist. On the entrepreneur front, his aforementioned deal with Waitrose is just the most obvious of his canny leveraging of the Duchy of Cornwall to his profit. Poundbury also produces good rents for the Duchy, and Charles is noted to have been a good husbandman of the Duchy's other large realty holdings. As to philanthropy, he established The Prince's Trust in 1976 to support programmes for at-risk youths. In this endeavour the Trust--funded heavily from the Duchy of Cornwall and the then-Prince's other private revenues--is seen as remarkably successful and well-regarded even in otherwise anti-royalist circles.

For all that he was seen as/really was a New Agey environmentalist and old-school aristocrat, his tenure as Prince of Wales showed him to be made of the stuff of an entrepreneur-philanthropist. On the entrepreneur front, his aforementioned deal with Waitrose is just the most obvious of his canny leveraging of the Duchy of Cornwall to his profit. Poundbury also produces good rents for the Duchy, and Charles is noted to have been a good husbandman of the Duchy's other large real estate holdings. As to philanthropy, he established The Prince's Trust in 1976 to support programmes for at-risk youths. In this endeavour the Trust--funded heavily from the Duchy of Cornwall and the then-Prince's other private revenues--is seen as remarkably successful and well-regarded even in otherwise anti-royalist circles.

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

-->'''King Charles III:''' May [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} flights of angels sing thee to thy rest]].

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.

He's known to have quite the sense of humour and to be fond of [[BritishHumour British comedy]]. When attending galas like the Royal Variety Performance and We Are Most Amused, he's among those laughing the hardest, even at jokes at his own expense. He's the world's highest-ranking fan of ''Creator/MontyPython'' (and their forerunner ''Radio/TheGoonShow'').

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. His crowning happened on May 6, 2023, a little under one month shy of the 70th anniversary of his mother's own.