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.
It has long been thought that out of her four children, the Queen shares an especially close bond with her "favourite" child, Prince Andrew, however a royal author has claimed that that isn't actually the case.
The Queen is mother to Prince Charles, 73, Princess Anne, 71, Prince Andrew, 62 and Edward, 58, and according to royal author, Matthew Dennison, it's actually her youngest son who is highest in her favour, and was also the favourite of her late husband, Prince Phillip.
Writing in his new book which is a biography of Her Majesty, Matthew penned: “Prince Edward, seemingly a bit wet and a tad irritating to the rest of us, was always his parents’ favourite. “That became apparent in 1987 when Edward, aged 22, opted out of the Royal Marines when he was just a third of the way through his 12-month basic training course. “To the surprise of some, Prince Philip did not come down on his son like a ton of bricks. “He accepted that the Marines ‘wasn’t right for Edward’ – and to this day Edward is grateful for that.” Last year, the Duke of York found himself embroiled in an alleged sex scandal involving Virginia Giuffre, which he ended up settling out of court for £12million, causing the Queen to strip him of his well-respected royal titles.
Despite this, the Queen and Prince Andrew are known to share a close relationship, and she made a point of this when he escorted her in Westminster Abbey during Prince Phillip's memorial service in April.
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