HM King Charles III, King of the United Kingdom (b. 1948)

King Charles III is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The King was born at Buckingham Palace in 1948 and celebrated his seventieth birthday in 2018.

Upon his accession in 2022 he had held the title of Prince of Wales for 53 years since his investiture with that title at Caernarvon Castle in 1969. In 1981 he married Lady Diana Spencer, who became the HRH The Princess of Wales, and their two children are Prince William, now HRH The Prince of Wales (b. 1982), and Prince Henry (Harry), The Duke of Sussex (b. 1984).

In 2005, when Prince of Wales, The King married Camilla Parker Bowles, who was styled HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. Upon The King’s accession, his wife became Queen Consort.

The King has been Patron of the Royal Collection since 2021, and prior to that Chairman of The Royal Collection Trust since its inception in 1993. In this position His Majesty supports the work of the Trust in presenting and conserving the Royal Collection.

In 2003 he approved the summer opening of his official London residence, Clarence House, formerly the home of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and where he spent time in his earliest years when it was briefly the home of his parents, prior to his mother’s accession.

The King’s interest in art, architecture, design and craftsmanship formed a key part of the 2018 Buckingham Palace summer exhibition Prince & Patron, celebrating his seventieth birthday with a display of works of art from across the Royal Collection which held particular interest for His Majesty, as well as several institutions founded by the then-Prince.

These included The Prince’s Foundation, School for Traditional Arts, which focuses on the practice of traditional skills; the Royal Drawing School, based in London; and included a display of the volumes of the Highgrove Florilegium, which records the botany found at Highgrove, the Gloucestershire estate occupied by The King.

His interest has also informed his engagements and patronages, including among others as Patron of Glasgow School of Art; Paintings in Hospitals; Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the Historic Houses Association.

His Majesty has also commissioned art which now forms part of the Royal Collection, including two series of portraits of D-Day and Battle of Britain veterans, and a series of Holocaust survivors. All of these groups of works have been displayed at The Queen’s Gallery, London, and some also at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

King Charles III undertook extensive public duties prior to his accession, including Commonwealth and official visits on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. His last official visit abroad as Prince of Wales was to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2022.  

Reign commenced 2022.