A chapter in history closes. Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96, in silence and accompanied by her family at Balmoral Castle, giving way to the crown to her son, Carlos III, who had been preparing since he was three years old (when he assumed the title of Duke of Cornwall) to ascend the royal throne.
But who is Carlos III, the new king of England?
birth and youth
Carlos III, formerly called Carlos Felipe Arturo Jorge in full, was born on November 14, 1948 at Buckingham Palace, London.
After a private education at Buckingham Palace and in London, Hampshire and Scotland, Charles entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1967. He earned a BA there in 1971, the first ever by an heir to the British crown.
He also spent a term at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, learning Welsh in preparation for his investiture as Prince of Wales on 1 July 1969 at Caernarvon Castle. He then attended the Royal Air Force College (becoming an excellent pilot) and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and from 1971 to 1976 he did a tour of duty with the Royal Navy.
He later became an outspoken critic of modern architecture. He expressed his views on the subject in A Vision of Britain (1989). In 1992 he founded the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture, which later became the BRE Trust, an organization involved in urban regeneration and development projects.
Marriages and offspring
On July 29, 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Frances Spencer, daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer; the royal wedding was a global media event, broadcast live on television and watched by hundreds of millions of people. The couple’s first child, Prince William of Wales, became at his birth (June 21, 1982) second in line to the throne.
Their second son, Prince Henry Charles Albert David (known as Harry) was born on September 15, 1984. Charles’s marriage to Diana became increasingly tense amid intense tabloid scrutiny and rumors of infidelity. On December 9, 1992, it was announced that Charles and Diana had decided to separate, but would continue to carry out their public duties and share the responsibility of raising their children.
The couple divorced on August 28, 1996. A year later, Diana would die in a tragic car accident. Popular sentiment for her, stronger even in death than in life, endangered the traditional form of monarchy that Charles represented. Subsequently, he devoted much effort to modernizing his public image as heir apparent.
On April 9, 2005, he married Camilla Parker Bowles (born 1947), with whom he had a long relationship; after the wedding, Parker Bowles took the title of Duchess of Cornwall.
Charles’ titles
In 1952, his mother ascended the British throne as Queen Elizabeth II when he was only three years old. He attended his mother’s coronation in 1953 at Westminster Abbey, sitting next to his grandmother Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and his aunt, Princess Margaret.
He then became the heir in first line of succession to the throne, which caused him to immediately obtain the title of Duke of Cornwall, by a statute of King Edward III of the titles of the first son of a monarch with the treatment of “His Royal Highness.” He received the title of Prince of Wales on July 26, 1958.
In addition, he has other titles such as: Earl of Chester, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick and Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and High Steward of Scotland.
Jefe de la Commonwealth of Nations
Carlos became head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries and 2.4 billion people. For 14 of these countries, in addition to the United Kingdom, the King is the head of state.
These countries, known as the Commonwealth realms, are: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.
Philanthropy
Arguably the subject that has remained closest to Charles’s heart is his concern for the environment, dating back to at least 1970, when he gave a speech on the “horrifying effects” of all forms of pollution and drew attention on the threat posed by “indestructible plastic containers.” Since then, he has often highlighted the need for swift action on global warming.
He has also been a passionate advocate for sustainability, not least thanks to the efforts of his Prince’s Foundation, inspired by his philosophy of harmony: “that by understanding balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world we can create a world more sustainable Future.”
Carlos III: when will he be named king?
The symbolic highlight of the accession will be the coronation, when Carlos is formally crowned. Due to the necessary preparation, the coronation is not likely to take place very soon after Charles’s ascension to the throne: Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne in February 1952, but was not crowned until June 1953.
For the last 900 years, the coronation has taken place in Westminster Abbey: William the Conqueror was the first monarch to be crowned there, and Charles will be the 40th.
