70 Facts About Charles, Prince of Wales

He’s been the country’s longest-serving heir apparent, but that doesn’t mean he sits idly and wait until the day he becomes king. Prince Charles makes his presence felt, especially on issues and advocacy close to his heart. Despite the many controversies he had steadfastly surmounted, the Prince of Wales remains one of the most well-loved members of the British Royal Family.

1. Born on  November 14, 1948, his full name is Charles Philip Arthur George.

2. Having held the title since 1958, he is the longest-serving Prince of Wales, surpassing the record held by Edward VII on September 9, 2017.

3. He is also the longest-serving Duke of Rothesay and Duke of Cornwall.

4. Prince George is the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history.

5. He was the first heir apparent to attend school rather than have a private tutor.

6. Prince Charles attended two of his father’s former schools—Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire, England, and the co-educational Gordonstoun School in Scotland.

7. Talking about his early education, Prince Charles once confessed, "I didn't enjoy school as much as I might have, but that was only because I'm happier at home than anywhere else."

8. He broke royal tradition when he went straight to university after earning his A-levels instead of enlisting in the British Armed Forces.

9. He graduated from Cambridge University on June 23, 1970, earning a 2:2 in Bachelor of History.

10. He was the first heir apparent to earn a university degree.

11. Charles was crowned by his own mother during his televised investiture as the Prince of Wales on July 1, 1969 at the Caernarfon Castle.

12. He is the 21st Prince of Wales in British history.

13.  He joined the Royal Air Force on March of 1971.

14.  Prince Charles received a private pilot’s license five months after joining the Royal Air Force. He also trained as a helicopter pilot at the Royal Naval Air Station in Yeovelton, Somerset in August to October of 1974.

15. While in active service, Charles joined a guided-missile destroyer called HMS Norfolk.

16. He left the Navy in December of 1976.

17. Prince Charles was linked to a bevy of women during his youth, one of whom being his future second wife, Camilla Shand, the future Duchess of Cornwall.

18. Some of her former flames also included Davina Sheffield, Lady Jane Wellesley, daughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington, and Georgina Russell, daughter of the British Ambassador to Spain.

19. Before Prince Charles even took notice of Diana, his eventual first wife and the future Princess of Wales, he first had his eyes on the young lady’s elder sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. He courted her, but the relationship never flourished.

20. Prince Charles’s great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, orchestrated for him to court his granddaughter, Amanda Knatchbull. Mountbatten, however, was killed by the IRA in 1979, and by the time Charles proposed to Amanda, the young lady had reservations on marrying into the royal family following the death of her youngest brother and paternal grandmother in a bomb attack. The relationship eventually ended.

21. Charles first saw Lady Diana Spencer while visiting the latter’s home in Althorp in 1977, though he initially did not see her as a potential bride as he was instead smitten by the elder sister. He only started having feelings for Diana when she showed genuine care for him while talking about his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten’s death.

22. Charles was 13 years older than Diana.

23. Once during the early stages of their relationship, Charles invited Diana for a sailing weekend aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia.

24. The couple’s blossoming relationship attracted massive media attention, which reportedly urged Prince Phillip to tell his son Prince Charles that he would tarnish Lady Diana’s reputation if he did not marry her. Charles heeded his father’s advice as he also realized Diana was a suitable bride.

25. After six months of exclusively seeing each other, Charles proposed to Diana on February 3, 1981 in the nursery of Windsor Castle.

26. Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Charles and Lady Diana on February 24, 1981.

27. Prince Charles and Lady Diana married at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, the first time that a Prince of Wales wedded since 1863.

28. The wedding congregation amassed 3500 guests.

29. There was heightened security during the wedding day due to the potential threat of Irish Republican guerillas attacking the venue. An estimated $600,000 was shelled out for security alone.

30. Charles made a mistake while speaking his vows, saying he would offer Diana “thy goods” instead of “my worldly goods”.

31. Charles and Diana defied royal traditions when they both decided to omit the word “obey” in the wedding vows, which caused a little controversy at the time.

32. Charles wore his full dress naval commander uniform, decorated with "the royal cipher of the Prince of Wales in gold on epaulettes on both shoulders”, the stars of the orders of the Garter, Thistle and Bath, and the Queen's silver jubilee medal. He also carried a "full dress sword tassled in gold."

33. The wedding was covered by 100 television networks, broadcast in 50 countries, and watched by a total of 750 million from around the globe.

34. Charles and Diana started the tradition of newly wedded royal couples kissing on the balcony.

35. The cost of the wedding was estimated to be $48 million, which could reach up to $100 if adjusted for inflation.

36. The now Prince and Princess of Wales took up residence at the Highgrove House and at Kensington Palace. Their union produced two princes, William and Harry.

37. Rumors of Charles and Diana experiencing marital woes started to surface as early as 1985, just four years after their grand wedding.

38. Charles’s extra-marital affair with his former lover, Camilla Parker-Bowles, was exposed in Andrew Morton’s 1992 book, Diana, Her True Story, derived from the Princess of Wales’s secret liaison with the writer.

39. Then British Prime Minister John Major announced the royal couple’s formal separation in Parliament on December of 1992.

40. In 1993, Charles’s explicit eight-minute phone conversation with Camilla from December 18, 1989, popularly known as the “Camillagate”, was leaked by the Daily Mail.

41. Charles admitted his affair with Camilla in a televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby on June 29, 1994. The Prince of Wales confessed he rekindled his relationship with his former girlfriend in 1986. He said his relationship with the Princess of Wales had already “irretrievably broken down” by that time.

42. The Prince and Princess of Wales eventually divorced on August 28, 1996.

43. A year after the divorce, the Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris. Charles accompanied the Diana’s sisters to Paris to bring her remains back in Britain.

44. Charles and Camilla made their first public appearance at a birthday party in London’s Ritz Hotel in 1999.

45. Charles and Camilla announced their engagement on February 10, 2005. They were personally congratulated by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Talking about the couple’s forthcoming marriage, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said, "These arrangements have my strong support and are consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage which the Prince of Wales fully accepts as a committed Anglican and as prospective Supreme Governor of the Church of England."

46. The government clarified that the union was not a morganatic marriage.

47. Charles and Camilla married on April 9, 2005 in a civil ceremony held at Windsor Castle, followed by a religious blessing at Windsor Guildhall.

48. The wedding was originally slated for April 8, but had to be re-scheduled to the following day as Charles needed to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

49. Charles’s parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, did not attend the civil ceremony—presumably prodded by Her Majesty’s position in the Church of England as supreme governor—but were present at the subsequent religious blessing and at the reception at Windsor Castle, which the Queen herself hosted.

50. Prince Charles is the only member of the Royal Family to have a civil wedding.

51. Charles founded The Prince’s Trust in 1976, which supports young people aged 11-30 years old who are unemployed and at risk of exclusion from school.

52. Apart from The Prince’s Trust, the Prince of Wales has 16 more charitable organizations collectively called The Prince’s Charities, which raises up to $100 million annually and is considered "the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom”. These organizations champion causes such as education, responsible business and enterprise and international, environmental sustainability, and the built environment.

53. Prince Charles is a patron of more than 350 organizations and charities.

54. The Prince of Wales “cares deeply about issues such as the environment, architecture, inner-city renewal, and the quality of life”.

55. In his speech during the 150th anniversary of Royal Institute of British Architects in 1984, Charles condemned "glass stumps and concrete towers" in modern architecture, and described the proposed extension to London’s National Gallery as "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved friend".

56. Some of his other interests include the Middle East, Islam, holistic healing, and alternative medicine.

57. Prince Charles is an experienced watercolorist, painting for most of his adult life.

58. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh gave Charles an Aston Martin sports car on his 21st birthday.

59. He described himself as “sometimes a bit of a twit” in a 1979 interview with David Frost.

60. He has a deep interest in organic farming, which started when he moved into the Highgrove House. In 1990, he launched Duchy Originals, an organic brand that markets over 200 sustainably produced products; profits of which go straight to The Prince’s Charities.

61. The Prince of Wales is a children’s book author. His work, The Old Man of Lochnagar, which was originally intended just for his younger brother, Prince Edward, was published in 1980.

62. Charles had been a polo player almost all his life, playing in all four positions. He only gave up the sport in 2005.

63. He prefers his eggs boiled for exactly seven minutes.

64. Prince Charles had to be served with seven boiled eggs, muffins, and tea between 4 to 5 pm every single day.

65. He would ask his chefs to steam his vegetable on a specific type of mineral water, and would request for his meals to be topped with poached eggs.

66. He holds the ranks Admiral and Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, respectively.

67. In 1988, he personally wrote and presented a television documentary, A Vision of Britain, where he expressed his views on conservation, architecture, and the built environment.

68. Prince Charles also holds the titles Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, Lord of the Isles, Baron Renfrew, and Earl of Carrick.

69. Prince Charles was offered to do a cameo appearance on Doctor Who, but he turned it down.

70. A 14-year-old Charles ordered cherry brandy at a bar during a school trip as it was the only drink he could think about at the time.

BONUS FACT:

He sleeps completely naked.