60 Facts – Prince Charles – 60th Birthday

60 facts about the Prince Charles: He was born on November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace.

:: The eldest child of the then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, he was christened Charles Philip Arthur George on December 15, 1948, in the Palace Music Room.

:: Charles became heir apparent on the death of his grandfather George VI, when his mother succeeded to the throne on February 6, 1952.

:: He was initially cared for by two Scottish nannies and a governess.

:: In October 1956 he started as a day boy at Hill House School in London’s fashionable Knightsbridge.

:: The following year, at the age of eight, he went as a boarder to Cheam School, at Headley, near Newbury, Berkshire.

:: He was created Prince of Wales on July 26, 1958.

:: In May 1962 he enrolled at Gordonstoun school, near Elgin, Morayshire, in the Scottish Highlands, later telling of his unhappy time there.

:: From February to July 1966 he went as an exchange student to Timbertop, the outback section of Geelong Church of England Grammar School, near Melbourne, Australia.

:: In his final year at Gordonstoun he was made school guardian (head boy).

:: He passed two A levels gaining a grade B in history and a C in French.

:: In October 1967 he went up to Cambridge University to read archaeology and anthropology at Trinity College, later switching to history.

:: From April to June 1969 he studied Welsh at Aberystwyth University.

:: In July 1969 he was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarvon Castle.

:: He became the 21st Prince of Wales.

:: The Queen invested her son with the Insignia of his Principality and Earldom of Chester: a sword, coronet, mantle, gold ring and gold rod.

:: He graduated from Cambridge with a BA Honours in June 1970, having been awarded a 2:2 grade.

:: In August 1975 he received his MA.

:: In March 1971 he joined the Royal Air Force and attended the RAF College at Cranwell, Lincolnshire, receiving his wings in August – Charles already held a private pilot’s licence.

:: The following month, he enrolled as a sub-lieutenant at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and in November joined HMS Norfolk, a guided-missile destroyer.

:: From August to October 1974 he trained as a helicopter pilot at the Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton, Somerset.

:: In 1976 he took command of the coastal minehunter, HMS Bronington.

:: He left the Navy in December 1976.

:: His Prince’s Trust was started with the £7,400 in severance pay he received when he left the Navy.

:: To date it has helped more than 500,000 unemployed young people get the skills needed to find work.

:: Probably the world’s most eligible bachelor, he vowed he would only marry for love and said: “You have got to choose somebody very carefully, I think, who could fulfil this particular role, and it has got to be someone pretty special.”

:: On February 24, 1981, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of the Prince, 32, to Lady Diana Spencer, the 19-year-old daughter of Earl Spencer and his former wife, Mrs Frances Shand Kydd.

:: Their wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981 was the first wedding of a Prince of Wales since 1863.

:: In the autumn of 1981 the couple moved in to Highgrove House, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, in the Cotswolds.

:: They kept a London apartment at Kensington Palace.

:: Prince William, their first son, was born on June 21, 1982.

:: Prince Harry’s birth followed on September 15, 1984.

:: As early as 1985 there were rumours that Charles and Diana’s marriage was in trouble.

:: In 1992 it was announced they were separating.

:: Then in 1994, in a national television interview, Charles admitted he had been unfaithful after the breakdown of his marriage.

:: A year later, Diana went on TV and also admitted adultery, with James Hewitt, but said there were “three people” in her marriage – Camilla Parker Bowles being the Prince’s other woman.

:: In 1996 Charles and Diana were divorced.

:: The following year, Diana died in a Paris car crash.

:: In 1999, Charles and Camilla appeared together in public.

:: In 2005 they became engaged and announced an April 8 wedding date.

:: The royal couple eventually married on April 9 after Charles had to go to Pope John Paul II’s funeral.

:: The Prince’s interests include architecture, inner-city regeneration, organic farming, conservation and environmental sustainability, alternative medicine and holistic healing, Islam and the Middle East, and education.

:: Published in 1980, The Old Man of Lochnagar, a children’s book, was originally written by Charles for his younger brother Prince Edward.

:: In May 1984, in a speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects, he described a proposed extension to the National Gallery as a “monstrous carbuncle”.

:: In 1988 he wrote and presented a TV documentary, A Vision of Britain, setting out his view of architecture, conservation and the built environment.

:: In May 1990 the Prince was back on TV presenting The Earth in Balance, a self-penned programme highlighting global issues.

:: Also in 1990 he set up Duchy Originals, marketing organic produce on a profits-for-charity basis.

:: In 1993, the construction of the Prince’s “model” village of Poundbury, near Dorchester, Dorset, began.

:: A countryman at heart, he rides and supports hunting.

:: Charles was a keen polo player for much of his life, finally giving up the sport in November 2005.

:: He played in all four positions, but most often at No 4 (back).

:: The heir to the throne’s sporting skills also stretch to Skiing.

:: The Charles is an experienced watercolourist and has been painting for most of his adult life.

:: The Prince’s character traits are described as sensitive, spiritual, melancholic, with a strong social conscience.

:: The Prince has the titles of The Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

:: The Queen and Philip gave their son an Aston Martin sportscar for his 21st birthday present.

:: The Prince holds the rank of Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Air Force, and is an Admiral of the Royal Navy.

:: He enjoys gardening, especially in his organic garden at Highgrove.

:: Charles is patron or president of around 400 organisations.

:: He regularly attends theatre and opera performances and symphony concerts, sometimes as part of a fundraising event or privately.