British Royal Family History
King Charles III became king on 8th September 2022 on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II. He has reigned for 2 years, 2 months, and 12 days. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6th May 2023. See King Charles Coronation.
He was born on 14th November 1948, and is 76 years, and 6 days old. His wife is Queen Camilla.
His mother Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, 7 months and 1 day, and was the oldest and longest reigning monarch in over 1,200 years of British History. See British Kings & Queens by Length of Reign.
Charles III is the 33rd great-grandson of King Alfred the Great who was the first effective King of England 871-899. See Royal Family Tree.
2017 was the 100th anniversary of the House of Windsor. It was founded by Charles' great-grandfather King George V on 17th July 1917.
His eldest son Prince William, who is next in line to the throne, married Catherine (Kate) Middleton in Westminster Abbey on 29th April 2011. They are now the Prince and Princess of Wales and in Scotland the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay. On 22nd July 2013 their first child Prince George was born. He is 2nd in Line of Succession to the throne after his father Prince William. Their second child Princess Charlotte was born on 2nd May 2015 and is 3rd in line. Their 3rd child, Prince Louis who is 4th in line, was born on 23rd April 2018.
Charles is King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. Great Britain was formed 315 years ago by the Act of Union between England and Scotland on 1st April 1707. More about Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
As well as the United Kingdom, he is Head of State of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he is represented by Governors-General. The fifteen countries of which he is King are known as Commonwealth Realms, and their combined population is 150 million.
He is Head of the Commonwealth of Nations comprising 54 member states and over 20% of the World's land in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The aims of the Commonwealth include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace. The 2.5 billion people in the member states account for almost a third of the world's population.