Happy 73rd Birthday to HRH The Prince of Wales

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Camilla Parker Bowles, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Susex, HRH The Prince of Wales, King Edward VII, King William IV, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Prince's Trust, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born November 14, 1948), is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948, during the reign of his maternal grandfather King George VI, as the first child of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was baptised there by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on December 15, 1948.

The death of his grandfather and the accession of his mother as Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 made Charles the heir apparent. As the monarch’s eldest son, he automatically inherited the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. Charles attended his mother’s coronation at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by his mother on July 26, 1958. His investiture was not held until July 1, 1969, when he was crowned by his mother in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle.

The Prince of Wales is both the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He is the oldest Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay. He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales. He surpassed the record held by Edward VII on September 9, 2017. If he becomes monarch, he will be the oldest person to do so, the current record holder being King William IV, who was 64 when he became king in 1830. Upon the death of his father, Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021, Charles also inherited the title of Duke of Edinburgh.

The Prince of Wales took his seat in the House of Lords in 1970, and he made his maiden speech in June 1974, the first royal to speak from the floor since the future Edward VII in 1884. He spoke again in 1975. Charles began to take on more public duties, founding The Prince’s Trust in 1976, and travelling to the United States in 1981.

He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, both of which his father attended as a child. He later spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.

In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer, with whom he had two sons: William and Henry, the current Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Susex respectively.

In 1996, the couple divorced following well-publicised extramarital affairs by both parties. Diana died as the result of a car crash in Paris the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-term partner Camilla Parker Bowles. Although legally she is the Princess of Wales out of respect for the late Diana, Princess of Wales she is known as the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Prince of Wales has five grandchildren. The children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The Children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are Archie and Lillibet Mountbatten-Windsor.

As the Prince of Wales, Charles undertakes official duties on behalf of the Queen. He founded The Prince’s Trust in 1976, sponsors The Prince’s Charities, and is a patron, president, or a member of over 400 other charities and organisations.

As a self-described environmentalist, Charles has spoken publicly about issues such as organic farming and climate change, which has earned him awards and recognition from environmental groups. His support for alternative medicine, including homeopathy, has been the subject of criticism.

His views on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings have received significant attention from British architects and design critics. Since 1993, Charles has worked on the creation of Poundbury, an experimental new town based on his architectural tastes. He is also an author or co-author of a number of books.

Happy Birthday to HRH The Prince of Wales

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Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born November 14, 1948) is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen 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. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer, and they had two sons: Prince William (b. 1982) and Prince Harry (b. 1984). In 1996, the couple divorced following well-publicised extramarital affairs by both parties.

Diana died as the result of a car crash in Paris the following year. In 2005, Charles married long-time partner Camilla Parker Bowles.

As Prince of Wales, Charles undertakes official duties on behalf of the Queen and the Commonwealth realms. Charles founded The Prince’s Trust in 1976, sponsors The Prince’s Charities, and is a patron, president, and a member of over 400 other charities and organisations. As an environmentalist, he raises awareness of organic farming and climate change, which has earned him awards and recognition from environmental groups.

His support for alternative medicine, including homeopathy, has been criticised by many in the medical community, and his views on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings have received considerable attention from British architects and design critics. Since 1993, Charles has worked on the creation of Poundbury, an experimental new town based on his preferences. He is also an author and co-author of a number of books.

Queen Camilla? The Woman Who Should Be Queen.

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Camilla Parker Bowles, James, Lady Louise Windsor, Louise of Wessex, Prince Charles, Prince James of Wessex, Queen Elizabeth II, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Earl of Wessex, the prince of Wales, Viscount Severn

This is a controversial topic. When The Prince of Wales married the present Duchess of Cornwall in April of 2005 it was decided that instead of being called HRH The Princess of Wales (a title that is legally hers) she would instead use one of the Prince of Wales’ other titles, Duke of Cornwall, and that she would be known as the Duchess of Cornwall. It was also announced at the time that when Charles becomes king the Duchess of Cornwall will beknown as HRH The Princess Consort instead of Her Majesty the Queen.

There has been great debate whether or not Her Majesty the Queen needs to issue new letters patent for these titles to be legal. Some argue that as the Font of all Honours the queen’s word is just as legally binding as any official decree or letters patent. Camilla is the Princess of Wales even though she does not use that title. However, I have read that in the situation with the Duchess of Cornwall not being queen when her husband becomes king, it would actually take and Act of Parliament to strip her of her title. This is something I do not think will be done.

It seems as if the queen is doing the same thing with the Duchess of Cornwall that was done with the Children of TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex. Allowing her to use a lesser title despite legally holding a higher title. The children of The Earl and Countess of Wessex are legally entitled, per the 1917 Letters Patent issued by King George V, to be styled and titled HRH Prince or Princess of Great Britain as grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line. In this case their eldest daughter is HRH Princess Louise of Wessex and their son is HRH Prince James of Wessex. These titles have not been legally stripped from them, it was simply announced they just would not use their royal styles and titles.

Therefore, despite the agreement made when the Prince of Wales married the Duchess of Cornwall she will, in fact, be Queen of the United Kingdom when her husband becomes king, she just will not use that title. The question I am asking is should she be allowed to be called queen, her rightful title?

I have mixed feelings on the subject. On the one hand I say yes. I think the Duchess of Cornwall has led a fine example of being a supportive consort to the Prince of Wales and would make an excellent Queen Consort. On the other hand I also know that constitutional monarchies need the support of the people. From my understanding is that although the Duchess of Cornwall has risen greatly in poularity since her marriage to the Prince of Wales there is still considerable objections by a number of people who do not support the Duchess of Cornwall becoming queen. So in this instance, despite my feelings, I need to bow to public opinion as it is today. Will that opinion change? I certainly hope so. I still think there is enough time for the Duchess of Cornwall to win over the hearts of the people and to take her righful position by her husbands side on the throne.

Diana, Princess of Wales: A Perspective

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Buckingham Palace, Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana Spencer, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth II, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, the prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales

I was on a Facebook page that was dedicated to English royalty. The page displayed pictures of HRH The Prince of Wales with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. I was surprised to read the hate toward the Duchess in the name of Diana, Princess of Wales. There are still some die-hard Diana fans who can be very rigid and venomous in their attacks on The Duchess of Cornwall. The responses surprised me because I thought this type of behavior was in the past. Apparently it is not. Today I wanted to write about Diana, Princess of Wales, a person I seldom write about, and see if I can put some things into perspective.

I understand that many people are royalty watchers, or interested in the British monarchy, because of Diana, Princess of Wales. The wedding of Lady Diana Spencer to HRH The Prince of Wales back in 1981 was the doorway into their fascination with not only the British Monarchy, but Diana herself. I have observed that it is these people who are often most vocal in their praises of Diana and their criticisms of The Duchess of Cornwall. Then there are those, like myself, who were interested in British royalty prior to the royal wedding. This group tends to follow the royal family for other motives. I state this as fact with no judgment implied.

I actually did, and do, admire Diana, Princess of Wales. However, I do not do it at the expense of The Duchess of Cornwall and I also recognize that Diana brought both positive and negative changes to the royal family. Those are the things that i want to write about today.

I think Diana brought a breath of fresh air into the royal family. Her warmth and kindness and willing to be open was a message to the rest of the royal family that they too need to be more down to earth and show their warmth. I think they have followed suit and I think that is one of the biggest influences that Diana brought. I also think she was a wonderful Mom. She did work very hard to give her two boys as normal a life possible given the circumstances of their lives. This was not only beneficial to the boys, it also helped to modernize the royal family and bring it closer to the people.

Although the royal family has been a patron of charities for many many years, Diana brought a style to her charity work that again emphasized her down to earth spirit and care for other people. In a day when AIDS was a frightening unknown entity and people with AIDS were demonized and shunned the attitude that Diana had toward people with this affliction helped to not only reduce the stigma it helped educate people and brought them out of ignorance.

When any marriage ends both parties often share responsibility. There is rarely a one-sided relationship. I really do not wish to rehash what went on in their marriage and who is to blame. First of all I wasn’t there so anything I do know might not be an accurate.

I think my major point in all of this is about moving on. In August of 2013 it will be 16 years since Diana passed away. The problem seems to be that many have not yet moved on and are stuck in some type of anger phases toward the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. I do think it is time to move on, to celebrate and always honor the life of Diana, Princess of Wales and to also recognize that the Duchess of Cornwall is also a very good person that has brought many good qualities and hard work to the royal family. I do think it is time to move on, to forgive and accept what is and has come to be.