Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Elizabeth II. He has been Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952, and he is the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history.
He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held that title since 1958. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, which his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had attended as a child. Charles also spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia.
How the Queen prepared Charles to be King from state papers to practice audiences
ok.co.ukKing Charles’ Coronation is set to take place on Saturday (6 May) - after a record-breaking wait. Charles, 74, was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history - after becoming first in the line of succession at the age of just three when his grandfather King George VI died on 6 February, 1952, and his mother, Elizabeth II, became Queen aged 25.
The new King was also the oldest person to accede to the British throne when he finally became monarch at the age of 73 when the Queen died in September last year.
But the long wait at least meant Charles had plenty of time to prepare to be King - and instrumental in those preparations was the Queen, who paved the way for her son in a number of ways.
Practice audiences The late Queen let Charles stage practice audiences with then-Prime Minister David Cameron in order to prepare him for taking the throne.
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