Happy 75th birthday to King Charles III

King Charles III turns 75 today.

Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of King Charles III taken by photographer Rankin for the cover of the Big Issue to mark the launch of The Coronation Food Project. Credit: Rankin/Rankin Creative/PA Media

Believe it or not, the little chap in the top photo is King Charles as a baby, sitting on his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s lap. Today, he turns 75 and to celebrate his big day, we bring you a selection of extraordinary facts about our new king, who ascended the throne upon the death of his mother in September 2022.

King Charles III
King Charles III delivers his address to the nation and the Commonwealth from Buckingham Palace, London, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday 8 September. Credit: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

 

10 Facts about King Charles III

1. At his fourth birthday party the band of the Grenadier Guards played The Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Charles’s favourite song, in Buckingham Palace courtyard.
2. As a little boy at Balmoral, Charles would climb into the empty bath and put his ear to the plughole so that, via the plumbing, he could eavesdrop on the adults’ conversation.
2. He is a keen watercolour painter.
3. His Prince’s Trust was started with the severance pay he received when he left the Navy in 1976.
4. He published a children’s book in 1980. The Old Man of Lochnagar was originally written by Charles for his younger brother Prince Edward.
5. He hates modern architecture and once described a proposed extension for the National Gallery as a “monstrous carbuncle”.
6. At 14, while at Gordonstoun School, he tried to order a cherry brandy in a bar. He said it was the only drink he could think of.
7. He speaks both Welsh and Arabic.
8. He loves Harry Potter books and films.
9. He was the longest-serving heir apparent, and in September, aged 73, became the oldest person ever to ascend the British throne.
10. His full name is: His Majesty His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

We wish His Majesty a very happy 75th birthday!

Read more:

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The Queen at Balmoral: Her Highland haven

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