Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday that the new monarch would be named King Charles III. “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” Charles said in a statement. “We deeply mourn the passing of a beloved Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held.” In many ways, Charles was the first modern heir to the British throne: He was sent to school rather than privately tutored at the palace, and after that he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Cambridge. Britain’s Royal Line of Succession 32 photos The young prince then went on to serve in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, deploying to several warships in the 1970s. But as CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports, Prince Charles’ role up until this point has largely been an exercise in waiting and carving out a meaningful role while he’s at it.
Charles’ difficult, mission-critical love life
Charles’ public life has been defined in many ways by the women he shared it with. Early on, the most essential task of the boy-to-be-king was to find a wife and produce future heirs. Lady Diana Spencer seemed to be the perfect match, although there were hints of trouble to come from the start. He was 32, she was 20 and their wedding was a global media spectacle. Two sons, Princes William and then Harry, dutifully followed. The Princess of Wales stands next to her husband, Charles, Prince of Wales, during an event held in their honor on February 11, 1987 in Bonn, Germany. Getty But it became clear to the world that the royal couple were not happy together. As more and more photos showed them looking aloof, the tabloids labeled them “The Glums”. In their very public divorce drama, Prince Charles often unwittingly played the role of villain for a voracious tabloid press. Asked after the split if she believed Charles’s long-term confidant and love Camilla Parker Bowles was a factor in the breakdown of her relationship, Diana said: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded. “ Princess Diana’s revolution 02:20 When Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Charles’ public image was so tarnished that many questioned whether he could ever become king. It took years of being seen as the devoted father of his two grieving sons for the prince to come out from under the cloud. But he showed up, and even went on to marry Camilla in 2005 in the first non-religious, civil ceremony ever for a British royal in England. In early 2022, Queen Elizabeth II herself, clearly keen not to question her intentions, said that when Charles became king, it was her “sincere desire that, when that time comes, Camilla would be known as Queen Consort as continues. her own loyal service’ to Britain. Charles said in a statement that he and Camilla were “deeply aware of the honor that my mother’s wish represents”.
The pursuits of a “poker” prince.
Once his life partner and future heirs were settled, Prince Charles focused his efforts on various charities and other causes he supported – not all extremely popular initiatives in their day. “I guess I’ve spent most of my life trying to propose and start things that very few people could see the point of or, frankly, think were just scams,” he said in 2016. “Maybe some of them are now starting to do they recognize a vantage point in all this seeming madness?’ The quip by the man who will probably become known as King Charles III was both a display of his signature humor and an arguably permissive humility from a king who was ahead of many on concepts such as organic farming, conservation and urgent need to tackle climate change. Britain’s Prince Charles looks around a new eco center at the environmental and education charity Roots and Shoots in south London, June 12, 2007. AP He continued to be a passionate advocate through his philanthropy for everything from environmental conservation to community empowerment. The Prince of Wales has been patron or chairman of more than 400 charities. “I find myself born in this particular position,” he once said in an interview. “I’m determined to make the most of it and do what I can to help and hopefully leave things a little better than I found them.”
The prince and the presidents
Prince Charles is no stranger to the corridors of power on the other side of the Atlantic. He has visited Washington at least 20 times and has met every American president since Jimmy Carter. He met with President Biden in November 2021, at the COP26 climate conference in Scotland. Mr Biden praised the prince for his leadership on environmental issues and reportedly told him: “We need you very much … and I’m not just saying that,” crediting Charles for “making everything happen.” During former President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK in 2019, Charles was scheduled to sit down for about 15 minutes with the US leader, but they ended up talking for an hour and a half. Trump later said the prince “did most of the talking,” but described the heir to the British throne as “a very good person” who “really cared about climate change.” “What moved me is his passion for future generations,” Trump said. “He wants to make sure future generations have a good climate, as opposed to a disaster, and I agree.” US President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Britain’s Prince Charles (2ndL) and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wait for a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on March 19, 2015 in Washington, DC BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty In 2015, Charles met with then-President Barack Obama for the second time during a three-day visit to the U.S. In the Oval Office, Obama commented that the American people “loved the royal family enough” and even suggested they “like them a lot better by their own politicians”. “I don’t believe that,” replied the royal. Queen Elizabeth II through the years 76 photos More
