Charles III, King of Great Britain, 1948-

Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. He acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022 upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. He was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history and is the oldest person to assume the throne, at the age of 73.

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace as the first child of then-Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, both of which his father attended as a child. He later spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Air Force and Navy from 1971 to 1976. In 1981, he married Diana Spencer, with whom he had two sons, William and Harry. In 1996, the couple divorced after they had each engaged in well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-time partner, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Invested as Prince of Wales in 1969, Charles undertook official duties on behalf of Elizabeth II. He founded the youth charity the Prince's Trust in 1976, sponsors the Prince's Charities, and is a patron, president, or a member of over 400 other charities and organisations. He has advocated for the conservation of historic buildings and the importance of architecture in society.[3][4][5] A critic of modernist architecture, Charles worked on the creation of Poundbury, an experimental new town based on his architectural tastes. He is also an author or co-author of over 20 books. As an environmentalist, Charles supported organic farming and action to prevent climate change during his time as the manager of the Duchy of Cornwall estates, earning him awards and recognition from environmental groups.[6][7][8][9] He is also a prominent critic of the adoption of genetically modified food.[10][11] However, Charles's support for homeopathy and other alternative medicine has been the subject of criticism.[12][13][14][15] Following allegations concerning the offering of honours and British citizenship to donors, the conduct of one of his charities, the Prince's Foundation, also attracted criticism; currently, the charity is the subject of an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation into cash-for-honours allegations.[16][17]