Back when he was still Prince of Wales, Charles opened parliament for the first time on May 10, 2022, and reads the Queen's Speech on behalf of his ailing mother
74-year-old, King Charles III, who will be installed on Saturday, was the oldest royal to ascend the throne in a1,000-year-old lineage when he replaced his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, following her death in September. The late Queen ruled ruled for 70 years.
Charles does not enjoy the same support as his widely admired mother, but his public approval ratings are generally positive. An opinion poll last week showed many more people hold favourable views of him than negative although there is also a wide segment expressing indifference.
Republican sentiment – which was almost entirely absent publicly during Elizabeth’s reign – has become visible with eggs thrown at the king and his wife, Camilla, on one trip and small groups of protesters voicing opposition at others.
Buckingham Palace has supported research into the monarchy’s links to slavery as calls grow for apologies and reparations, not least from some of the 14 Commonwealth realms, where Charlesis also king.
The Guardian newspaper has run a series of articles raising questions about the opaque nature of the wealth and finances of the institution and the royal family, an issue that resonates at a time when Britons are facing a cost of living crisis.
A 7-year-old Charles sits with his mother and younger sister, Princess Anne, as they watch the final match of the Smith’s lawn polo cup in Windsor, England, on June 23, 1956. [File: AP]
In this July 27, 1958, photo, Prince Charles wears his school uniform. He became the first heir apparent to the British throne to attend school rather than have a private tutor. [File: AP]Prince Charles arrives at London Airport from Glasgow on April 2, 1964, at a time when he was a student at Gordonstoun School in northeast Scotland, which his father, Prince Philip, also attended. [File: AP]An 18-year-old Prince Charles leaves Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth in a state coach on October 31, 1967, for the opening of parliament. It was the first time the prince took part in the ceremony. [File: AP]Queen Elizabeth II crowns her son the Prince of Wales during his investiture ceremony on July 1, 1969, at Caernarfon Castle in Wales. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is seated at the right, and British Home Secretary James Callaghan stands next to the prince. [File: AP]Prince Charles and Tricia Nixon, daughter of US President Richard Nixon, discuss baseball at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, on July 18, 1970, during a trip the prince made to the US capital with his sister, Princess Anne, after they had visited Canada with their parents. [File: AP]Prince Charles walks with Imelda Marcos, first lady of the Philippines, in Katmandu on February 24, 1975, at the coronation ceremony for Nepal’s King Birendra. [File: AP]Prince Charles drinks from a freshly cut green coconut at Haripur village, which he visited during a one-day trip to Bhubaneswar, India, on December 4, 1980. The prince is wearing a marigold garland, which was given to him by villagers. [File: Santosh Basak/AP]Prince Charles wed Diana, Princess of Wales, on July 29, 1981. The couple appeared with his parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London after their marriage at St Paul’s Cathedral. [File: AP]Charles and Diana take home their firstborn son, Prince William, from St Mary’s Hospital in London on June 22, 1982, the day after his birth. [File: John Redman/AP]Charles and Diana made their second trip to Australia together in 1985 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the state of Victoria, named after Charles’s great-great-great-grandmother. [File: AP]Charles greets models wearing clothing from a local designer during a tour of Soweto, South Africa, on November 3, 2011. [File: Kim Lubbrook/pool/AP]Charles speaks after a performance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra at St James Palace in central London on December 12, 2011. [File: Lefteris Pitarakis/pool/AP]After preparing for the crown his entire life, Charles was king on April 28, 2023, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police presented him with a horse named Noble as he accepted the role of commissioner-in-chief of the police force at Windsor Castle. At the age of 73, he had become the oldest person to ever assume the British throne when Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022. [File: Andrew Matthews/pool/AP]
