Prince Charles is one of the most well-known, most photographed, most recognizable figures
in the world, but there are still some aspects of life little-known to the general public.
Here's what you might not know about Prince Charles.
We know that the royal family doesn't have political power. However, Prince Charles will
one day have the ability to change the royal family name, an issue that's been a point
of contention in the past. As of the making of this video, Charles is the Prince of Wales,
but when he becomes king, it will be up to him whether or not the royals keep the last
name Mountbatten-Windsor.
So why is it such a big deal? When Queen Elizabeth took the throne, her late husband Prince Philip
threw things for a loop because he wanted her to take his last name. Officials in Great
Britain at the time were adamant that the royal name of Windsor be used instead, so
the couple compromised and hyphenated the two last names.
Philip was once quoted saying he was "the only man in the country not allowed to give
his name to his own children," certainly suggesting that the issue was a sore spot for him. After
all that stress, Charles will one day be able to change it if he so desires.
If you think that Queen Elizabeth will live forever, you're not alone. She's been on the
throne for nearly 70 years, and it doesn't seem like she has any plans of giving up her
crown. Because of her reign, the Queen has made her firstborn son, Prince Charles, the
longest "heir apparent" in royal history.
As noted by the Guardian, Charles broke the long-standing record of eldest heir apparent
when he turned 62 — surpassing Edward VII, his great-great-grandfather, who waited 59
years to take over the throne.
So how long has Charles been the direct heir to the British throne? Only since he was 3
years old. His mother became Queen in 1952, and she later dubbed him the Prince of Wales
at 9 years old. So at this point, we can imagine that he's eager to become king.
If you're a fan of "The Crown," then you know that education was a bit of a sore spot for
the monarch. Many royals were, at one point, exclusively educated by tutors or nannies,
making the academic experience that Prince Charles had fairly unique for a man in his
position.
As noted in his official royal biography, Charles attended Hill House school in West
London as a child at the request of the Queen and Prince Philip. He then went to boarding
school, and later attended Gordonstoun, a school located in Eastern Scotland. According
to Express, Gordonstoun was a favorite institution for the royals as Charles, Prince Andrew,
and Prince Edward all attended. Later on, Princess Anne enrolled her children at Gordonstoun.
Like many college-aged students, Charles spent time studying abroad and stayed two school
terms at the Geelong Church of England Grammar School in Australia. He returned to England,
took his O Level exams, and went off to university. Charles studied archaeology, anthropology,
and later history at Cambridge University; he graduated in 1970.
Numerous members of the British royal family have served in the armed forces. Even Queen
Elizabeth served as a mechanic during World War II. Not dissimilar to his royal heritage,
Prince Charles spent a period of time in the military; according to his official royal
biography, Charles started his training while attending university.
While a second year student at Cambridge, Charles began taking flying lessons, and by
1971 he flew himself to Royal Air Force Cranwell to continue his education as a jet pilot.
Later that same year, Charles started his career in the navy, a decision reminiscent
of his father, grandfather, and his great-grandfathers on both his maternal and paternal sides. He
then embarked on a six-week long course at the Royal Naval College before serving on
the HMS Norfolk. Three years later, Charles joined the 845 Naval Air Squadron as a helicopter
pilot.
Did you know that Diana Spencer was only 20 years old when she married Prince Charles?
Charles was born in 1948 and Diana in 1961, marking a 12 year gap in their ages. The couple
met in 1980 and by February of 1981, Charles had asked then 19-year-old Diana to marry
him. They'd known each other just six months and had only conversed with each other about
13 times before they got married, which in hindsight, should've been a red flag.
Diana turned 20 on July 1, 1981 and was married to Charles on July 29 of the same year. And
if you're doing the math, then you know that Diana was still very young when her marriage
began to crumble; she was just 30 when the formal separation from Charles commenced,
and was barely 36 when she tragically passed away.
Prince Charles is an interesting man. On one hand, he's lived his entire life surrounded
by luxury, and on the other, he's an environmental advocate who goes out of his way to make his
cars efficient.
"Let's get on with the urgent task of forming a global alliance to overcome the perverse
obstacles facing us."
According to Town & Country, Queen Elizabeth gifted Charles an Aston Martin car for his
21st birthday. The car burned a lot of fuel, which became a point of concern for Charles
— he didn't want his vintage mode of transportation to be such a polluter.
So what did Charles do? He went to the engineers at Aston Martin and discovered that his car
could run on a blend of white wine and whey. While Charles was encouraged by said engineers
not to use it in his vintage car, he marched to the beat of his own drum. Charles explained,
"I said, 'Well I won't drive it then,' so they got on with it and now they admit that
it runs better and is more powerful on that fuel than it is on petrol. And also, it smells
delicious as you're driving along."
Prince Charles drives a vintage Aston Martin that literally runs on wine — you really
can't make this stuff up.
Get ready for some abbreviations, because we're about to list off Prince Charles' official
title. Charles' full title is:
"His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB,
OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick,
Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland."
The coupled letters represent different knightly orders. For example, KG stands for Knight
of the Garter, which according to Business Insider, is the "most senior chivalrous order."
KT stands for Knight of the Thistle, GCB stands for Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath,
and so on.
You'll see that Charles is not just a prince, but is also the Earl of Chester, the Duke
of Cornwall, etc. These are titles that are automatically given to the heir to the British
throne. When Charles eventually becomes king, it's likely that Prince William will take
on many, if not all, of the titles, as he will then be the next direct heir.
As noted by his official royal biography, Charles is passionate about providing good
quality food to the masses, and established his company Duchy Organics in 1990.
"Plant the seeds left from cooking vegetables, and see how long it takes them to sprout."
In 2010, Duchy Organics joined British supermarket Waitrose in partnership, and has been selling
its products in the mainstream market. To top off a good thing, all the monetary profits
made by the company are donated to charity.
Queen Elizabeth spoke about her son's commitment to Duchy Organics and conservation in general,
and according to Marie Claire, championed him for his service. The Queen said,
"Over his 70 years, Philip and I have seen Charles become a champion of conservation
and the arts, a great charitable leader — a dedicated and respected heir to the throne
... and a wonderful father. Most of all, sustained by his wife, Camilla, he is his own man, passionate
and creative."
What's the company's best selling product, you might ask? Biscuits. Count us in.
Here's a fact about Prince Charles that's unexpected: he's a member of the exclusive
magician's club, the Magic Circle. As noted by Yahoo! News, Charles was invited to join
the Magic Circle in 1975 after he successfully executed a magic trick. He was made aware
of the club by Earl Mountbatten, his great uncle, who'd been a member for over two decades
himself.
Magic is certainly a love affair that's lasted throughout Charles' life, because for his
70th birthday, he went all out and included a televised magic show in his celebrations.
The show took place at the London Palladium and featured some big name magicians, including
street magician Dynamo.
This is a little bit of a heartwarming story, too. Dynamo's career was in-part supported
by funds from Charles' trust, and he said that the support was life changing.
Prince Charles might be known for his dapper suits and coordinated ties, but it might come
as a surprise to learn that he's behind a Net-a-Porter clothing collection. Yes, the
heir to the British throne is partially responsible for a clothing line.
As noted by Marie Claire, Charles partnered with the Modern Artisan project through his
foundation to support design students, located in Italy, in their fashion pursuits. The goal
was to create a sustainable clothing line that utilized the latest technology — digital
work, AI, and data from Net-a-Porter's consumers.
Charles said in a statement that he was "enormously impressed" by the work produced, and was hopeful
about the vision shown by the designers. He said,
"Hopefully they will take away a great deal of skill and understanding of sustainable
approaches to design and manufacturing that they can apply to their own businesses or
future careers. The key for me is to rediscover the importance that nature plays, understand
where natural materials come from and how they can be used in exciting and innovative
ways."
It's no secret that Prince Charles is a snappy dresser. It's probably pretty easy for him
to be, given that he has a net worth of about $400 million. And it looked as though Charles'
coordinated suits and great winter coats caught the eye of the Esquire, because the international
magazine named him Best Dressed Man in 2009. Esquire's United Kingdom-based edition took
the opportunity to comment on the decision, with its fashion director, Nick Sullivan,
saying that he "applauded" the call. Sullivan wrote,
"[Charles] may not have quite the same look as more predictable list toppers like David
Beckham or Justin Timberlake, but as British Esquire's editor-in-chief, Jeremy Langmead,
put it, 'It's the men who dress like grown-ups who really caught the judges' eyes.' Hurrah
for that."
So who else made the list that year? You might not be surprised by this one, given that he
was arguably the swaggiest president to ever exist, but former-President Barack Obama only
came in fourth. Not bad, Charles.
Netflix's period drama "The Crown" may have gotten some backlash for its historical inaccuracy,
especially in Season 4, but an aspect that it did get right was Prince Charles' encounter
with an avalanche.
As noted by Marie Claire, Charles was skiing in Switzerland with a group of friends in
1988 when an avalanche came tearing down the mountain. Charles escaped unscathed. Unfortunately,
the natural disaster killed a member of his group and former royal aide Major Hugh Lindsay.
Charles was reportedly "weeping" and in distress when he was rescued by helicopter, and all
in all, it sounds like a harrowing incident.
But things got complicated in the aftermath. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time
that Charles was investigated due to Major Lindsay's death. It turned out that an avalanche
warning had gone out earlier in the day, but Charles — who was very keen on getting out
on the mountain for the day — ignored it. The rest of the group followed him, and of
course, things went from bad to worse. Charles wasn't charged for his involvement, but it
certainly wasn't a good look.
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