Look up surname in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In some Western world countries, it is commonly called "last name". In all Western countries in North and South America as well as Europe, a surname is placed at the end of a person's given name. In Spain and most Spanish-speaking countries, two last names or surnames are used. One notable exception on the order is in Hungary, where, just like in China, Korea (성씨), Japan and in many other East Asian countries, the family name is placed before a person's given name.

The western style of having both a family name (surname) and a given name (Christian name or forename) is far from universal. In many countries it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym.

Order of words[link]

In some cultures, including those of most Western countries, the surname or family name ("last name") is placed after the personal or given name ("first name"). In other cultures the surname is placed first, followed by the given name or names; this is the case in Hungary, parts of Romania, South India, Sri Lanka^[1] and countries in the Chinese cultural sphere including Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China.

In Japan and Hong Kong (China), when people of Japanese or Hong Kong Chinese origin, respectively, write their personal name in the Latin alphabet, it is common to reverse the order of the given and family names for the convenience of Westerners, so that they know which name is the family name for official/formal purposes. Hungarians do the same when interacting with other Europeans. Reversing the order of names is also customary for the Baltic Fennic peoples and the Hungarians, but other Uralic peoples didn't need surnames, because of the clanic structure of their societies. Surnames have been imposed by the dominant authorities: evangelists, then administrations. Thus, the Samis saw no change or a transformation of their name, for example: some Sire became Siri,^[2] Hætta Jáhkoš Ásslat became Aslak Jacobsen Hætta — as it was the norm until recently, when integration into the EU and accelerated international exchanges pushed many people to reverse the order of their full name to given name - surname, so that they are not called Ms. Rauha (a first name), just like Japanese, some Koreans, Chinese or some Vietnamese do, for the same reason.

In France and Italy, administrative usage is to put the surname before the first on official documents.

In India surname often denotes your caste, profession, village etc. and is invariably mentioned along with the personal names. However, hereditary last names are not universal. In Indian Passports surname is mentioned first. In telephone directories surname is taken for sorting the entries in alphabetical order. In North Indian States surname is placed after given names where it exists. In south India, where use of two names is by no means universal, surname is placed before personal name and in most cases it is kept as only initial (for example 'S.' for Suryapeth etc.).

Spanish-speaking countries[link]

In Spain and most Spanish-speaking countries, two last names or surnames are used, both customary and legally: a first surname for the father's family, and a second surname for the mother's.^[3] Besides a given name, people may or may not have middle or supplementary names. Women do not lose their surnames when married. A formal way to refer to a person would be to refer to her/him using the first last name or both. So, Diego Antonio Huyke Villeneuve would be called 'Huyke' or 'Huyke Villeneuve', but not 'Villeneuve'.

In Spain, since 1999, and in Chile since 2008, equal gender rights are recognized by letting parents decide on the order of their children´s first and second surnames. Once the order is decided for the first child, siblings of the same biological parents must maintain same order.^[4][5] Having same-sex marriage achieved legal status in Spain, surname regulations apply equally to their children in this nation.^[6]

Argentina has been an exception on the use of two surnames, since traditionally only the father’s has been used. A bill recently approved establishes the optional use of both surnames seeking to homologate^{[clarification needed]} Argentina to the rest of Spanish-speaking countries.^[7]

In an English-speaking environment, Spanish-named people sometimes hyphenate their surnames to avoid confusion or to fill-out forms with only one space provided for last name. A practical option to spare an explanation is to use a single surname composed of two separate words.

For more information see: Spanish naming customs

Formation[link]

Name etymologists classify European surnames under five categories, depending on their origin: given name, occupational name, location name, nickname, and ornamental name.^[8][9] This classification can be extended to surnames originating elsewhere.

Given name[link]

These may be a simple first name such as "Wilhelm", a patronymic such as "Andersen", a matronymic such as "Beaton", or a clan name such as "O'Brien". Multiple surnames may be derived from a single given name: e.g. there are thought to be over 90 Italian surnames based on the given name "Giovanni".^[10]

Occupational name[link]

Occupational names include such simple examples as "Eisenhauer" (iron worker, later Anglicized in America as "Eisenhower") or "Schneider" (tailor) as well as more complicated names based on occupational titles. In England it was common for servants to take a modified version of their employer's occupation or first name as their last name, adding the letter "s" to the word, although this formation could also be a patronymic. For instance, the surname "Vickers" is thought to have arisen as an occupational name adopted by the servant of a vicar,^[11] while "Roberts" could have been adopted by either the son or the servant of a man named Robert. A subset of occupational names in English are names thought to be derived from the medieval mystery plays. The participants would often play the same roles for life, passing the part down to their oldest sons. Names derived from this may include "King", "Lord", "Virgin", and "Death";^[8] the last is often wrongly thought to be an Anglicization of the French name "D'Ath".^[9] It is now thought that the surname "D'Ath" arose well after the surname "Death" was first used.^[9]

Location name[link]

Location names, or habitation names, may be as generic as "Gorski" (Polish for "hill") or "Pitt" (English for "pit"), but may also refer to specific locations. "Washington", for instance, is thought to mean "the homestead of the family of Wassa",^[9] while "Lucci" likely means "resident of Lucca".^[10] Although some surnames (such as "London" or "Bialystok") are derived from large cities, more people reflect the names of smaller communities, as in Ó Creachmhaoil, derived from a village in County Galway. This is thought to be due to the tendency in Europe during the Middle Ages for migration to chiefly be from smaller communities to the cities, and the need for new arrivals to choose a defining surname.^[8][9]

Many Japanese surnames derive from geographical features; for example, Ishikawa (石川) means "stone river", Yamamoto (山本) means "the base of the mountain", and Inoue (井上) means "above the well".

Arabic names also contain surnames that denote the city of origin, for example, in cases of Saddam Hussein al Tikriti,^[12] meaning Saddam Hussein of Tikrit, a city in Iraq. This component of the name is called a nisbah.

Nicknames[link]

These include names, also known as eke-names,^[13] based on appearance such as "Schwartzkopf", "Short", and probably "Caesar",^[10] and names based on temperament and personality such as "Daft", "Gutman", and "Maiden", which according to a number of sources was an English nickname meaning "effeminate".^[9][10] When Jewish families in Central Europe were forced to adopt surnames in the 18th and 19th century, those who failed to choose a surname were often given pejorative or even cruel nicknames (such as "Schweinmann" ("pig man") or "Schmutz" (a variant of "filthy")) by the local registrar.^[8] Many families later changed these names.

Ornamental name[link]

Ornamental names as surnames are more common in communities which adopted (or were forced to adopt) surnames in the 18th and 19th centuries,^[8] and are common among Jewish families and in Scandinavia.^[10] Examples include "Morgenstern" ("morning star"), "Safire" ("sapphire"), and "Reis" ("branch"). In some cases, such as Chinese Indonesians and Chinese Thais, certain ethnic groups are subject to political pressure to change their surnames, in which case surnames can lose their family-name meaning. For instance, Indonesian business tycoon Liem Swie Liong (林绍良) "indonesianised" his name to Sudono Salim. In this case "Liem" (林) was rendered by "Salim", a name of Arabic origin, while "Sudono", a Javanese name with the honorific prefix "su-" of Sanskrit origin, was supposed to be a rendering of "Swie Liong

Gender-specific versions of surname[link]

Cultures like Greek and Russian tend to have surnames that change form depending on the gender of the person. For example in Greece, if a man called Papadopoulos has a daughter, she will likely be named Papadopoulou (if the couple have decided their offspring will take the father's surname), since that name has a female version. In Poland, if the husband is named Podwinski, and his wife takes his surname, her last name, and those of their unmarried daughters, would be Podwinska. The sons would be known as Podwinski. Much more interesting situation is in Lithuania. If the husband is named Vilkas, his wife will be named Vilkienė and his daughter will be named Vilkaitė.

Other[link]

The meanings of some names are unknown or unclear. The most common European name in this category may be the Irish name "Ryan", which has no known meaning.^[9][11] Other surnames may have arisen from more than one source: the name "De Luca", for instance, likely arose either in or near Lucania or in the family of someone named Lucas or Lucius;^[10] in some instances, however, the name may have arisen from Lucca, with the spelling and pronunciation changing over time and with emigration.^[10] The same name may appear in different cultures by coincidence or romanization; the surname Lee is used in English culture, but is also a romanization of the Chinese surname Li.^[11] Surname origins have been the subject of much folk etymology.

Surnames were uncommon prior to the 12th century, and still somewhat rare into the 13th; most European surnames were originally occupational or locational, and served to distinguish one person from another if they happened to live near one another (e.g., two different people named John could conceivably be identified as 'John Butcher' and 'John Chandler'). This still happens, in some communities where a surname is particularly common, for example on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, many residents have the family name MacLeod (son of Lewis) and so may still be known by a surname symbolising their occupation such as 'Kevin the post' and 'Kevin Handbag'^{[citation needed]}

In French Canada until the 19th century, several families adopted surnames that followed the family name in order to distinguish the various branches of a large family. Such a surname was preceded by the word "dit" ("said") and was known as a "nom-dit" ("said-name"). (Compare with some Roman naming conventions.) While this tradition is no longer in use, in many cases the nom-dit has come to replace the original family name. Thus the Bourbeau family has split into Bourbeau dit Verville, Bourbeau dit Lacourse, and Bourbeau dit Beauchesne. In many cases Verville, Lacourse, or Beauchesne has become the new family name. Likewise, the Rivard family has split into the Rivard dit Lavigne, Rivard dit Loranger and Rivard dit Lanoie. The origin of the nom-dit can vary. Often it denoted a geographical trait of the area where that branch of the family lived: Verville lived towards the city, Beauchesne lived near an oak tree, Larivière near a river, etc. Some of the oldest noms-dits are derived from the war name of a settler who served in the army or militia: Tranchemontagne ("mountain slasher"), Jolicœur ("braveheart"). Others denote a personal trait: Lacourse might have been a fast runner, Legrand was probably tall, etc.

Surname formed from a parent's name[link]

A simple family tree showing the Icelandic patronymic naming system.

The Icelandic system, formerly used in much of Scandinavia, does not use family names. A person's surname indicates the first name of the person's father (patronymic) or in some cases mother (matronymic). Most family names in other Scandinavian countries are a result of this naming practice, such as Hansen (son of Hans), Johansen (son of Johan) and Olsen (Son of Ole/Ola) the three most common surnames in Norway.^[14]

Patronymic name conventions are similar in some other nations, including Malaysia (see Malaysian name) and other Muslim countries, among most people of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala (unlike another Indian state Andhra Pradesh, where ancestral origin village names have become surnames for the people), in Mongolia and in the Scottish Gaelic personal naming system. In Russia and Bulgaria, both a patronym and a family name are obligatory parts of one's full name: e.g., if a Russian is called Ivan Andreyevich Sergeyev, that means that his father's name is Andrey and his family name is Sergeyev. A similar system is used in Greece. However, unlike the Icelandic case, only the family name is generally identified as a surname proper.

In Ethiopia and Eritrea, a child adopts the given name of one of their parents, usually the father, as a pseudo-surname. For example, Abraham Mesfin's father's name would have been Mesfin, while a child would be called "Nestanet Abraham". Referring to Abraham Mesfin as "Mr. Mesfin" would be erroneous: The correct term would be "Mr. Abraham". Very rarely do children adopt their mother's given name, whom in any case would retain their "pseudo-surname".

Culture and prevalence[link]

In the United States, 1,712 surnames cover 50 percent of the population, and about 1 percent of the population has the surname Smith,^[15] which is also the most common English name and an occupational name ("metal worker"), a contraction of blacksmith or ironsmith. Several American surnames are a result of corruptions or phonetic misappropriations of European surnames as a result of the registration process at the Immigration entry points.

Approximately 70 percent of Canadians have surnames that are of English, Irish, French, or Scottish derivation.

Some estimates say that 85 percent of China's population shares 100 surnames. In China the names Wang, Zhang and Li are the most common.^[16]

See also[link]

• Family name
• Family name (surname) in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and CIS countries
• List of most common surnames
• Matriname
• One-name study
• Chinese surnames
• Scandinavian family name etymology
• Surname law
• Surname Extinction

References[link]

17. Hugh Wilkinson's Website that includes "Some Common English Surnames, Especially those Derived from Personal Names"

James Younghusband

Personal information
Full name	James Joseph Placer Younghusband
Date of birth	(1986-09-04) 4 September 1986 (age 25)
Place of birth	Ashford, Surrey, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Right midfielder
Club information
Current club	Loyola Meralco Sparks
Number	7
Youth career
1996–2005	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2006	Chelsea	0	(0)
2006	Wimbledon	0	(0)
2007	Staines Town	6	(1)
2007	Woking	0	(0)
2008	Farnborough	0	(0)
2011	San Beda FC	0	(0)
2011–	Loyola Meralco Sparks	13	(11)
National team‡
2005	Philippines U-23	3	(1)
2006–	Philippines	44	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:32, 12 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 March 2012

James Joseph Placer Younghusband^[1] (born 4 September 1986) is an English–Filipino footballer who plays as right midfielder for Loyola Meralco Sparks and the Philippines national team.

Childhood and career[link]

Younghusband was born in Ashford, Surrey, England to an English father and a Filipina mother (both deceased). He is the brother of Philippine team forward Phil Younghusband.

James Younghusband's career began when he signed for Chelsea in 1996 and signed a scholarship with them at the age of 10. While with Chelsea, he made a number of appearances for the youth and reserve team. Subsequently, he also had brief stay with other English football teams in the past years. After his contract with Chelsea expired in 2008, they moved to the Philippines.

On 15 April 2011, it was reported that Younghusband and his younger brother Phil, announced that they will join San Beda for the 2011 National Club Championships under former national coach Aris Caslib.^[2]

After the conclusion of the 2011 National Club Championship, he and his younger brother would be joining Loyola Agila on three year deals.^[3]

International career[link]

Early in 2005, the Philippine Football Federation was alerted to Younghusband's eligibility by a mysterious gamer who allegedly found out about their lineage via the Football Manager series. He and his younger brother Phil were eventually called up to the Southeast Asian nation's football squad, amidst much fanfare. Younghusband participated in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, which was held in the Philippines. He also ensured the advancement of the Philippine team to the group stage of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification by scoring in the 4th minute of the away match against Mongolia in the qualifying play-off.

International goals[link]

Scores and results list the Philippines' goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 January 2007	Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Choa Chu Kang	Singapore	1–1	1–4	Friendly
2.	12 October 2010	Kaohsiung National Stadium, Kaohsiung	Macau	3–0	5–0	2010 Long Teng Cup
3.	24 October 2010	New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane	Laos	2–2	2–2	2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier
4.	15 March 2011	MFF Football Centre, Ulan Bator	Mongolia	1–0	1–2	2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifier
5.	21 March 2011	Youth Training Centre, Yangon	Myanmar	1–0	1–1	2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifier
6.	11 October 2011	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila	Nepal	2–0	4–0	Friendly

Honours[link]

Club[link]

San Beda

• PFF National Men's Club Championship: Runner-up 2011

Loyola

• UFL Cup: Runner-up 2011–12

International[link]

• AFC Challenge Cup: Third place 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

• James Younghusband at National-Football-Teams.com
• James Younghusband – FIFA competition record

This biographical article related to an English association football midfielder born in the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article related to Philippines association football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield at the 2009 BAFTA Television Awards in London
Born	(1961-05-30) 30 May 1961 (age 51) Horsham, West Sussex, England
Medium	Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	British
Years active	1984–present
Genres	Sketch shows, Character comedy, Satire
Influences	Dick Emery, Ben Elton
Influenced	Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse

Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield (born 30 May 1961)^[1] is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.

Early life[link]

Born in Horsham, West Sussex, he is the oldest of three children, the son of English television, radio and newspaper journalist and presenter Edward Enfield. He has two sisters, Elizabeth (born 1966) and Lucy Katherine (born 1969). He was educated at the independent Arundale School in Pulborough, Dorset House School, Worth School, Collyer's Sixth Form College (all in West Sussex) and the University of York, where he was a member of Derwent College and read politics. He worked for a while as a milkman.

Career[link]

Enfield first came to public attention when appearing on Channel 4's Saturday Live as several different characters created with Paul Whitehouse. These quickly entered the national consciousness. Among these characters were Stavros, a Greek restaurant owner with fractured English; and Loadsamoney, an obnoxious character who constantly boasted about how much money he earned. Loadsamoney spawned a hit single in 1988 and a sell-out live tour. As a foil to Loadsamoney Enfield and Whitehouse created the Geordie "Bugger-All-Money" and in 1988 Enfield appeared as both characters during the Nelson Mandela Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. In time Whitehouse and Enfield became disturbed that Loadsamoney was being seen in a positive light, rather than as a satirical figure, and they had him run over during a Comic Relief Red Nose Day show while leaving the studio after presenting host Lenny Henry with "the biggest cheque of the night"—a physically huge cheque for ten pence.^[2]

In 1989 Enfield realised a personal project, Norbert Smith - a Life, a spoof on British theatrical knights slumming in the film industry. He also provided voices for the British satirical puppet show Spitting Image, and starred as Dirk Gently in the BBC Radio adaptations of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

TV series[link]

Enfield in 1998

In 1990 Enfield developed his BBC sketch show, Harry Enfield's Television Programme, later called Harry Enfield and Chums, with Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. Eschewing the alternative comedy style prevalent at the time, both versions of the show were indebted to early '70s comedians such as Dick Emery and Morecambe and Wise. Enfield and his co-performers created another group of nationally recognised characters for these shows, such as Stan and Pam Herbert, who use the catchphrase "We are considerably richer than you" (in an exaggerated West-Midlands accent), Tim Nice-But-Dim, The Scousers, Smashie and Nicey, Wayne and Waynetta Slob, Annoying Kid Brother, who grew into Kevin the Teenager, and two old-fashioned BBC presenters, Mr Cholmondley-Warner and Grayson.

In 1991, Enfield played Dermot in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly along with Martin Clunes, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, originally on Thames Television. Enfield left after the first series, and was replaced in the second series by Neil Morrissey as Tony. Enfield is a professed fan of opera and fronted a Channel 4 documentary series on the subject. In 1991 Harry also starred in the series Gone to the Dogs (TV series) as Little Jim.

After a short break from television Enfield signed a new contract with BSkyB, but produced only one series, Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show. In 2002 Enfield returned to the BBC with Celeb, a new series based on the comic strip of the same title in Private Eye, as the ageing rockstar Gary Bloke.

In 2002 Enfield was the first guest on the revamped version of BBC's Top Gear and also appeared on the show on 23 November 2008. Enfield has also narrated various TV documentaries such as the Discovery Wings channel "Classic British Aircraft".

In 2007, he played Jim Stonem in the Channel 4 series Skins. He reprised this role in the second series in 2008, and the third series in 2009.

He appears often on mainstream television shows. His current comedy series Harry & Paul (originally titled Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul) started in 2008.

Films[link]

In 2000 Enfield appeared in his first leading film role playing Kevin alongside Kathy Burke, who played the character's (male) friend Perry—roles originally created for Enfield's television series—in Kevin & Perry Go Large. The film charted the pair's attempt to become professional DJs by travelling to the nightclubs of Ibiza and pestering their idol, the DJ Eyeball Paul, played by Rhys Ifans, while gaining love and losing their virginity. Enfield also appeared as King George VI in Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004), a satire on Hollywood's tendency to change elements of history. In 2012 he starred with Simon Callow in the film " Acts of Gordfrey" which opened in UK cinemas on 27 January.

Commercials[link]

Enfield appeared in some television commercials before becoming famous, including one made in 1987 for Heineken. Enfield's commercials include a series made in 1996 for Dime Bar. One commercial in this series had Enfield as a yokel refusing a Dime bar—smooth on the outside, crunchy on the inside—because he preferred armadillos—smooth on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Later Enfield, with Paul Whitehouse, starred in a series of commercials for Hula Hoops as The Self-Righteous Brothers, characters from Enfield's television show . In 2004 Enfield starred in a series of commercials for Burger King in the United States as Dr. Angus, a character intended to promote the company's newest hamburger. Two more characters from Enfield's TV series, Mr Cholmondley-Warner and Grayson, also appeared in commercials, for Mercury Communications.^[3] Also in 2004 Enfield provided the voice of "The Roaming Gnome" character used in Travelocity's U.S. advertising campaign.

Personal life[link]

For several years, Enfield was in a relationship with Alison Owen, the mother of Alfie and Lily Allen. They lived together for three years and he helped look after the children. They intended to get married but separated in 1995.^[4] He previously dated producer Debbie Vertue (daughter of Beryl Vertue and sister of Sue Vertue).^[5]

In 1997 Enfield married Lucy Lyster and they have one son, Archie Edward (born 1997) and two daughters, Poppy Sophia (born 1999) and Nell Florence (born 2003).

Enfield went to school with Simon Nye, who later wrote Men Behaving Badly.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Harry Enfield at the Internet Movie Database

Prince Charles
Prince of Wales; Duke of Rothesay (more)
The Prince of Wales during a visit to La Moncloa in 2011
Spouse	Diana, Princess of Wales (m. 1981, div. 1996) Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (m. 2005)
Issue
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge Prince Harry of Wales
Full name
Charles Philip Arthur George[fn 1]
House	House of Windsor
Father	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Mother	Elizabeth II
Born	(1948-11-14) 14 November 1948 (age 63) Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom
Religion	Church of England

Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George;^{[fn 1]} born 14 November 1948) is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay.^[2] He is the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, having held this status since 1952.^[3]

Charles was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun Schools, which his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had attended as a child, as well as the Timbertop campus^[4] of Geelong Grammar School in Australia. After earning a bachelor of arts degree from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served a tour of duty with the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. He married Lady Diana Spencer before an enormous worldwide television audience in 1981. They had two sons, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in 1982 and Prince Harry of Wales in 1984. The couple separated in 1992 following tabloid allegations concerning their relationship. They divorced in 1996 after Diana publicly accused Charles of having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and Charles admitted adultery on television. Diana died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. In 2005, after a lengthy continued association, the Prince married Camilla, who uses the title Duchess of Cornwall.

The prince is well known for his humanitarian and social concerns; he sponsors The Prince's Charities and is patron of many other charitable and arts organisations. For many years, the Prince has championed organic farming and sought to raise world awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment, such as climate change. He has been outspoken concerning the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings, and produced a book on the subject called A Vision of Britain (1989). He has also promoted herbal and other alternative medical treatment.

Early life[link]

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra Sarah, Duchess of York
v t e

Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948 at 9.14 pm (GMT), the first child of then Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Baptised in the palace's Music Room on 15 December 1948, using water from the River Jordan, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, the Prince's godparents were: the King (his maternal grandfather); the King of Norway (his cousin, for whom the Earl of Athlone stood proxy); Queen Mary (his maternal great-grandmother); the Princess Margaret (his maternal aunt); Prince George of Greece (his paternal granduncle, for whom the Duke of Edinburgh stood proxy); the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (his paternal great-grandmother); the Lady Brabourne (his cousin); and the Hon David Bowes-Lyon (his maternal great-uncle).^[5] By letters patent of Charles' great-grandfather, King George V, the titles of a British prince or princess, and the style Royal Highness, were only to be conferred on male-line children and grandchildren of the sovereign, as well as the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. However, on 22 October 1948, George VI issued new letters patent granting these honours to any children of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip; otherwise, Charles would have merely taken his father's title, and been titled by courtesy as Earl of Merioneth. In this way the children of the heiress presumptive had a royal and princely status.

When Charles was aged three his mother's accession as Queen Elizabeth II made him heir apparent to the then seven realms of which she was queen. As the sovereign's eldest son, he automatically took 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, in addition to being a prince of the United Kingdom. Charles attended his mother's coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, seated alongside his grandmother and aunt. As is customary for royal offspring, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed and undertook his education between the ages of five and eight. Buckingham Palace announced in 1955 that Charles would attend school rather than have a private tutor, making him the first heir apparent ever to be educated in that manner.^[6]

Youth[link]

Education[link]

Charles first attended Hill House School in West London, receiving non-preferential treatment from the school's founder and then head, Stuart Townend, who advised the Queen to have Charles train in football, as the boys at Hill House were never deferential to anyone on the football field.^[7] The Prince then attended his father's former school, the Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire, England; and was finally moved to Gordonstoun, in the north-east of Scotland. Reportedly the Prince despised his time at the latter school – "Colditz in kilts", as Charles put it – though he did spend two of his terms at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Geelong, Australia, during which time he visited Papua New Guinea on a history trip with his tutor, Michael Collins Persse. Upon his return to Gordonstoun, Charles emulated his father in becoming Head Boy, and left in 1967 with two A Levels in History and French.

Tradition was broken again when Charles proceeded straight from secondary school into university, as opposed to joining the Armed Forces. On the recommendation of Robin Woods, Dean of Windsor, and despite only gaining grades of B and C in his A Levels,^[8] the Prince was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he read anthropology, archaeology, and history, tutored by Canadian-born Professor John Coles. He graduated with a 2:2 Bachelor of Arts on 23 June 1970, the third Royal Family member to earn a university degree.^[9] On 2 August 1975 he was subsequently awarded a Master of Arts Degree from Cambridge, per the university's tradition.^[9] During his tertiary, Charles also attended the Old College (part of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth), studying the Welsh language and Welsh history. He is the first Prince of Wales born outside of Wales ever to attempt to learn the language of the principality.

Created Prince of Wales[link]

Charles was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 26 July 1958,^[10][11] though his investiture as such was not conducted until 1 July 1969, wherein he was crowned by his mother in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle, and gave his replies and speech in both Welsh and English.^[12] A Welsh nationalist campaign opposed to the investiture tried unsuccessfully to disrupt the ceremony. The following year he took his seat in the House of Lords,^[8] and later in the decade became the first member of the Royal Family since King George I to attend a British Cabinet meeting, having been invited by Prime Minister James Callaghan so that the Prince might see the workings of the British government and Cabinet at first hand. Charles also began to take on more public duties, founding his The Prince's Trust in 1976,^[13] and travelling to the United States in 1981.

Around the same time the Prince expressed an interest in serving as Governor-General of Australia; Commander Michael Parker explained: "The idea behind the appointment was for him to put a foot on the ladder of monarchy, or being the future King and start learning the trade." However, because of a combination of nationalist feeling in Australia and the dismissal of the government by the Governor-General in 1975, nothing came of the proposal. Charles accepted the decision of the Australian ministers, if not without some regret; he reportedly stated: "What are you supposed to think when you are prepared to do something to help and you are told you are not wanted?"^[14] Conversely, Tom Gallagher wrote that Charles had been offered the Romanian throne by monarchists in that country; an offer that was reportedly turned down.^[15][16] The Romanian press again picked up this story in autumn 2011,^[17] but Buckingham Palace denied the reports.^[18]

The Prince is at present the oldest man to hold the title of Prince of Wales since it became the title granted to the heir apparent. He is also the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in Commonwealth realms' history and the third longest serving Prince of Wales in British history behind George IV and Edward VII, whom he will pass on 10 October 2017 if he is still Prince of Wales on that date. If he ascends to the throne after 18 September 2013, Charles would be the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom to do so; only William IV was older when he became monarch than Charles is now.

Military training and career[link]

Prince Charles arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in the United States, 1981

Following in the tradition of Princes of Wales before him, Charles spent time in the navy and air force. After Royal Air Force training that he requested and received during his second year at Cambridge, on 8 March 1971 the Prince flew himself to the Royal Air Force College Cranwell to train as a jet pilot. After the passing out parade in September of that year, he then embarked on a naval career, enrolling in a six–week course at the Royal Naval College Dartmouth and then serving on the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk (1971–1972) and the frigates HMS Minerva (1972–1973) and HMS Jupiter (1974). Charles also qualified as a helicopter pilot at RNAS Yeovilton in 1974, just prior to joining 845 Naval Air Squadron, operating from HMS Hermes, and on 9 February 1976 the Prince took command of the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington for his last nine months in the navy. Prince Charles learned to fly on a Chipmunk basic pilot trainer, a BAC Jet Provost jet trainer, and a Beagle Basset multi-engined trainer, he then regularly flew the Hawker Siddeley Andover, Westland Wessex and BAe 146 aircraft of The Queen's Flight.

Early romances[link]

The Prince in Buckingham Palace in 1974, by Allan Warren

Prince Charles' love life was always the subject of speculation and press fodder. In his youth, he was linked to a number of women, including Georgiana Russell, daughter of the British Ambassador to Spain; Lady Jane Wellesley; Davina Sheffield; Fiona Watson, a model; Susan George; Lady Sarah Spencer; Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg; Lady Tryon; Janet Jenkins, Jane Ward and Camilla Shand, who later became his second wife.

Charles was given written advice on dating and the selection of a future consort from his father's "Uncle Dickie": "In a case like yours, the man should sow his wild oats and have as many affairs as he can before settling down, but for a wife he should choose a suitable, attractive, and sweet-charactered girl before she has met anyone else she might fall for... It is disturbing for women to have experiences if they have to remain on a pedestal after marriage."^[19] Mountbatten, with George VI's consort Queen Elizabeth, had arranged the first documented meeting of Charles' parents at Dartmouth Royal Naval College on 22 July 1939.^[20] In early 1974, Mountbatten began corresponding with Charles about a potential marriage to Mountbatten's granddaughter Amanda Knatchbull,^[21] and recommended that the 25-year-old prince get done with his bachelor's experimentation. Charles dutifully wrote to Amanda's mother, Lady Brabourne (who was also his godmother), about his interest in her daughter, to which she replied approvingly, though suggesting that a courtship was premature.^[22]

This did not daunt Mountbatten, who, four years later, obtained an invitation for himself and Amanda to accompany Charles on his 1980 tour of India. Both fathers, however, objected; Philip complaining that the Prince of Wales would be eclipsed by his famous uncle (who had served as the last British Viceroy and first Governor-General of India), while Lord Brabourne warned that a joint visit would rivet media attention on the cousins before they could decide on becoming a couple, thereby potentially dashing the very prospect for which Mountbatten hoped.^[23] However, before Charles was to depart alone for India, Mountbatten was killed by the IRA in August 1979. When Charles returned, he proposed to Amanda. However, in addition to her grandfather, she had lost her grandmother and youngest brother Nicholas in the attack and now recoiled from the prospect of becoming a core member of the Royal Family.^[23] In June 1980 Charles officially turned down Chevening House, placed at his disposal since 1974, as his future residence. Chevening, a stately home in Kent, was bequeathed, along with an endowment, to the Crown by the last Earl Stanhope, Amanda's childless great-uncle, in the hope that Charles would eventually occupy it.^[24]

First marriage[link]

The Prince and Princess of Wales with Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan in November 1985

Although Charles first met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977—while visiting Diana's home, Althorp, as the companion of her elder sister, Sarah—he did not consider her romantically until the summer of 1980. While sitting together on a bale of hay at a friend's barbecue in July he mentioned Mountbatten's death, to which Diana replied that Charles had looked forlorn and in need of care during his uncle's funeral. Soon, according to Charles' chosen biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, "without any apparent surge in feeling, he began to think seriously of her as a potential bride."^[25] She accompanied the Prince on visits to Balmoral and Sandringham, eliciting enthusiastic responses from most of the Royal Family.

Although the Queen offered Charles no direct counsel, his cousin Norton Knatchbull (Amanda's eldest brother) and his wife, Penny, did. But Charles was angered by their objections that he did not seem in love with Diana and that she seemed too awestruck by his position.^[26] Meanwhile, the couple continued dating, amidst constant press speculation and paparazzi coverage. When Prince Philip told him that the intrusive media attention would injure her reputation if he did not come to a decision about marrying her soon, and realising that Diana met the Mountbatten criteria (and, apparently, the public's) for a proper royal bride, Charles construed his father's advice as a warning to proceed without further delay.^[27]

Engagement and wedding to Diana[link]

The Prince and Princess of Wales with Sandro Pertini, 1985

Prince Charles proposed to Diana in February 1981, she accepted, and when he asked her father for her hand, he consented. The Queen, and the British and Canadian privy councils gave the required legal approval, and, 29 July, Charles and Diana were married at St Paul's Cathedral, before 3,500 invited guests and an estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million people. The couple made their homes at Kensington Palace and at Highgrove House, near Tetbury. Almost immediately, the new Princess of Wales became a star attraction; she was chased by paparazzi, and her every move was followed by millions through the mass media. The couple had two children: Princes William (born 21 June 1982) and Henry (known as "Harry") (born 15 September 1984). Charles set precedent by being the first royal father to be present at his children's births.^[6] Persistent suggestions have been made that the father of Harry is not Charles but James Hewitt with whom Diana had an affair. These suggestions have been based on a physical similarity between Hewitt and Harry. However Hewitt stated to the press in 2002 that Harry had already been born by the time the affair between him and Diana began.^[28][29][30]

Separation and divorce[link]

The union between the Prince and Princess of Wales soon became troubled; within five years, the "fairytale" marriage was on the brink of collapse. The couple's incompatibility, 13 years' age difference^[31] and Diana's obsession with Charles' previous girlfriend, Camilla Shand,^[32] became visible and damaging to their marriage. In response to the succour sought by the Prince, Diana responded in kind. Charles, however, was also blamed for the marital troubles, as he began an adulterous affair with Camilla.^[33] Though they remained a couple in public, Charles and Diana had effectively separated by the late 1980s, the Prince living in Highgrove and the Princess at Kensington Palace. Their increased periods apart and obvious discomfort in each other's presence began to be noticed by the media, and this, plus evidence and recriminations of infidelity, were published in tabloid newspapers and broadcast on the news. By 1992, the marriage was over in all but name; in December of that year, British Prime Minister John Major announced in the British parliament their formal separation, after which the media began to take sides, starting what came to be known as the War of the Waleses. In October 1993, Diana wrote to a friend that she believed her husband was now in love with Tiggy Legge-Bourke and wanted to marry her.^[34] Charles and Diana formally divorced on 28 August 1996.^[35]

A year later, on 31 August 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris, along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. The Prince of Wales flew to Paris, with Diana's sisters, to accompany his ex-wife's body back to Britain.

Second marriage[link]

In 1993 the British tabloids came into the possession of recordings of a 1989 telephone conversation between the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles, in which Charles expressed regret for the indignities she had endured because of her relationship with him, and which revealed graphic expressions of physical intimacy between the two.^[36][37]

Engagement and wedding to Camilla[link]

Charles and Camilla in Jamaica, 13 March 2008

Clarence House announced on 10 February 2005 that Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles were engaged; the Prince presented her with an engagement ring that had belonged to his grandmother. In a Privy Council meeting on 2 March, the Queen's consent to the marriage (as required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772) was recorded.^[38] In Canada, however, the Department of Justice announced its decision that the Queen's Privy Council for Canada was not required to meet to give its consent to the marriage, as the union would not result in offspring and thus would have no impact on the succession to the Canadian throne.^[39]

The marriage was to have been on 8 April of that year, and was to take place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, with a subsequent religious blessing at St George's Chapel. But, because the conduct of a civil marriage at Windsor Castle would oblige the venue thereafter to be available to anyone wishing to be married there, the location was changed to the Windsor Guildhall. On 4 April it was announced that the marriage would be delayed by one day to allow for the Prince of Wales and some of the invited dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Charles' parents did not attend the marriage ceremony; the Queen's reluctance to attend arising from her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.^[40] The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh did, however, attend the service of blessing, and held a reception for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle, afterwards.^[41]

A unique feature during the Blessing of Charles and Camilla's marriage by the Archbishop of Canterbury was the inclusion of the strongest act of penitence from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.^[42] The royal couple led the congregation in declaring:

We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we, from time to time, have committed by word, thought and deed, against thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.^[43]

The wedding made Charles the first member of the Royal Family to have a civil, rather than religious, wedding in England. Official documents from the 1950s and 1960s had been published by the BBC that stated such a marriage was illegal,^[44] though these were dismissed by Clarence House,^[45] and explained to be obsolete by the sitting government.^[46]

Personal Interests[link]

Portrait of The Prince of Wales, 1984

In his years as heir apparent, the Prince of Wales has taken on a wide array of interests and activities, and devoted his time and effort to charity work and collaborating with local communities. Since founding The Prince's Trust, he established fifteen more charitable organisations, and now serves as president of all of those, plus two others; together, these form a loose alliance called The Prince's Charities, which claim to raise over £110 million annually.^[47] In 2010, The Prince's Charities Canada was established in a similar fashion to its namesake in the UK.^[48] Charles is also patron of over 350 other charities and organisations,^[49] and carries out duties related to these throughout the Commonwealth realms; for example, he uses his tours of Canada as a way to help draw attention to youth, the disabled, the environment, the arts, medicine, the elderly, heritage conservation, and education.^[50]

Built environment[link]

The Prince of Wales has frequently shared his views on architecture and urban planning in public forums, claiming to "care deeply about issues such as the environment, architecture, inner-city renewal, and the quality of life."^[51][52] He is known to be an advocate of neo-traditional ideas, such as those of Christopher Alexander and Leon Krier, which were illustrated in his 1984 attack on the British architectural community in a speech given to the Royal Institute of British Architects, describing a proposed extension to the National Gallery in London as a "monstrous carbuncle". Charles also published a book and created a documentary entitled A Vision of Britain, which critiqued some aspects of modern architecture. Despite criticism from the professional architectural press, the Prince has continued to put forward his views, stressing traditional urbanism, the need for human scale, and the restoration of historic buildings as an integrated element of new development and sustainable design. Two of the Charles' charities in particular forward his theories on design: The Prince's Regeneration Trust (formed by a merger of Regeneration Through Heritage and the Phoenix Trust in 2006) and The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment (which absorbed The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture in 2001). Further, the village of Poundbury was created at the instigation of Prince Charles, with a master plan by Leon Krier.

Charles assisted with the establishment of a national trust for the built environment in Canada after lamenting, in 1996, the unbridled destruction of many of the country's historic urban cores. He offered his assistance to the Department of Canadian Heritage in the creation of a trust modelled on Britain's National Trust, a plan that was implemented with the passage of the 2007 Canadian federal budget.^[53] In 1999, the Prince also agreed to offer the use of his title to the Prince of Wales Prize for Municipal Heritage Leadership, awarded by the Heritage Canada Foundation to municipal governments that have shown sustained commitment to the conservation of historic places.^[54] Charles has also been the recipient of awards for his efforts in regard to architecture, such as the National Building Museum's Vincent Scully Prize he received in 2005, while visiting the United States and touring southern Mississippi and New Orleans to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina; he donated $25,000 of the prize money to help restore communities damaged by the storm.

Starting in 1997 the Prince of Wales also visited Romania to view and draw attention to some of the destruction caused during the Communist rule of Nicolae Ceauşescu, particularly Orthodox monasteries and Saxon villages of Transylvania,^[55][56][57] where he purchased a house.^[58] Charles also became patron of two Romanian built environment organisations: the Mihai Eminescu Trust and the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture, and Urbanism,^[59] an advocate of architecture that respects cultural tradition and identity. Charles also has “a deep understanding of Islamic art and architecture”, and has been involved in the construction of a building and garden at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies which combine Islamic and Oxford architectural styles.^[60]

Charles' involvement in architecture has also attracted controversy, especially his personal intervention to redesign projects whose architectural style or approach he has disagreed with. He has been especially opposed to styles such as modernism and functionalism.^[61][62][63] Richard Rogers, recipient of the Pritzker Prize and Stirling Prize, has described the Prince's personal intervention in projects as "an abuse of power" and "unconstitutional".^[64] In 2009 Charles wrote a letter to the Qatari royal family, the developers of the Chelsea Barracks site to be designed by Rogers, that suggested his design was "unsuitable". Subsequently, Rogers was removed from the project and The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment was appointed to propose an alternative.^[62] Rogers has also claimed the Prince intervened to stop his designs for the Royal Opera House and Paternoster Square.^[62]

Charles' personal interventions have attracted critique from prominent members of the architectural community. Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Jacques Herzog, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano, and Frank Gehry among others wrote a letter to The Sunday Times to this effect; each is a recipient of the Pritzker Prize.^[62] They wrote that "private comments" and "behind-the-scenes lobbying" by the Prince counteracted the "open and democratic planning process" in the case of the Chelsea Barracks project.^[62] Similarly, Piers Gough CBE and other architects wrote a letter encouraging colleagues to boycott Charles' address to the Royal Institute of British Architects, with Gough calling Charles' views on architecture "elitist".^[61][63]

Natural environment[link]

Prince Charles and attendants at the newly opened @ Bristol on 14 June 2000

Since the early 1980s, Charles has taken a keen interest in environmental issues, taking a leadership role in promoting environmentally sensitive thinking.^[65] Upon his moving into his Highgrove estate, he became increasingly focused on organic farming, an attention that culminated in the 1990 launch of his own organic brand: Duchy Originals,^[66] which now sells more than 200 different sustainably produced products, from food to garden furniture, the profits from which (£6 million, as of 2008) are donated to The Prince's Charities.^[67] Documenting this work on his estate, Charles co-authored (with Charles Clover, environment editor of the Daily Telegraph) Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming, published in 1993, and offers his patronage to Garden Organic. Along similar lines, the Prince of Wales became involved with farming and various industries within it, regularly meeting with farmers to discuss their trade; though the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic in England prevented Charles from visiting farmers in Saskatchewan, organic farmers there came to meet him at the Assiniboia town hall. In 2004, he also founded the Mutton Renaissance Campaign, which aims to support British sheep farmers and make mutton more attractive to Britons.^[68] His organic farming efforts, however, attracted media criticism: According to The Independent in October 2006 "...the story of Duchy Originals has involved compromises and ethical blips, wedded to a determined merchandising programme."^[69] and, in February 2007, Duchy products themselves came under attack, with the tabloid Daily Mail claiming that the food was "unhealthier than Big Macs."^[70] In 2007, Charles also launched The Prince's May Day Network, which encourages businesses to take action on climate change.

An announcement was made by Clarence House in December 2006 that the Prince of Wales would make his household's travel arrangements more eco-friendly and, in 2007, Charles published in his annual accounts the details of his own carbon footprint, as well as targets for reducing his household's carbon emissions.^[71] That same year, he received the 10th annual Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment, the director of which, Eric Chivian, stated: "For decades the Prince of Wales has been a champion of the natural world... He has been a world leader in efforts to improve energy efficiency and in reducing the discharge of toxic substances on land, and into the air and the oceans".^[72] However, Charles' travel by commercial airliner to the United States to attend the award ceremony drew criticism from some environmental activists, such as the Plane climate change action group's campaigner Joss Garman,^[71] and in April 2009 he faced similar criticisms for chartering a private jet for a five day tour of Europe to promote environmental issues.^[73]

The Prince gave a speech to the European Parliament on 14 February 2008, in which he called for European Union leadership in the war against climate change. During the standing ovation that followed, Nigel Farage, the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), was the only MEP to remain seated and went on to describe Charles's advisers as "naive and foolish at best." Farage continued: "How can somebody like Prince Charles be allowed to come to the European Parliament at this time to announce he thinks it should have more powers? It would have been better for the country he wants to rule one day if he had stayed home and tried to persuade Gordon Brown to give the people the promised referendum [on the Treaty of Lisbon]."^[74]

The Prince gave a speech to the Low Carbon Prosperity Summit in a European Parliament chamber on 9 February 2011, in which he lashed out at climate change skeptics. He said they are playing "a reckless game of roulette" with the planet's future and are having a "corrosive effect" on public opinion. He also spoke about the need to protect fisheries, the Amazon rain forest and about making low-carbon emissions affordable and competitive.^[75]

In 2011, he received the RSPB Medal.^[76]

Religious and philosophical beliefs[link]

The Prince is a member and regular communicant of the Church of England, having been christened at the age of one month, as noted above. He was confirmed at age 16 by the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, at Easter 1965 in St. George's Chapel, Windsor.^[77]

The Prince is known to attend services at several different Anglican churches near his home at Highgrove, Gloucestershire.^[78] With the Queen and the rest of the royal family, he also regularly worships at Crathie Kirk when staying at Balmoral Castle. In 2000, he was appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

The Prince of Wales also travels (amidst some secrecy) each year to Mount Athos to spend time in the Orthodox monasteries there,^[79] as well as in Romania,^[55] demonstrating his interest in Orthodox Christianity.^[80][81][82] Along with his father, who was born and raised as Greek Orthodox, Charles is patron of The Friends of Mount Athos, as well as the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies.^[83] It is also believed that Prince Charles has an Orthodox icon corner in his house where he keeps the majority of his Orthodox icons. None of this is surprising, as Prince Charles' father was raised Greek Orthodox, but converted before marrying the future Queen Elizabeth II. It is reported that in more recent years, even his father, Prince Philip, has joined him in occasional retreats to the peninsula.^[79]

Charles is also patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford.^[60][84]

Sir Laurens van der Post became a friend of Charles in 1977, a relationship which led him to be dubbed the "guru to Prince Charles"^[85] and made godfather of Charles' son, Prince William.^[86] From him, the Prince of Wales developed a focus on philosophy, especially that of Asian and Middle Eastern nations, praising Kabbalistic artworks,^[87] and penning a memorial for Kathleen Raine, the Neoplatonist poet who died in 2003.^[88]

Alternative medicine[link]

President and Mrs Bush greet The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall at the White House, November 2005

Charles has demonstrated an interest in alternative medicine, and his promotion of it has caused controversy.^[89] In 2004, Charles' Foundation for Integrated Health divided the scientific and medical community over its campaign encouraging general practitioners to offer herbal and other alternative treatments to National Health Service patients,^[90][91] and in May 2006, Charles made a speech to an audience of health ministers from various countries at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, urging them to develop a plan for integrating conventional and alternative medicine and argued for homeopathy.^[92][93]

In April 2008, The Times published a letter from Edzard Ernst, Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, which asked the Prince's Foundation to recall two guides promoting "alternative medicine", saying: "the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous." A speaker for the foundation countered the criticism by stating: "We entirely reject the accusation that our online publication Complementary Healthcare: A Guide contains any misleading or inaccurate claims about the benefits of complementary therapies. On the contrary, it treats people as adults and takes a responsible approach by encouraging people to look at reliable sources of information... so that they can make informed decisions. The foundation does not promote complementary therapies."^[94] That year, Ernst published a book with science writer Simon Singh condemning alternative medicine called Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial. The book is ironically dedicated to "HRH the Prince of Wales" and the last chapter is very critical of his advocacy of "complementary" and "alternative" treatments.^[95]

The Prince's Duchy Originals produce a variety of CAM products including a “Detox Tincture” that Edzard Ernst has denounced as "financially exploiting the vulnerable" and "outright quackery".^[96] In May 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised an email that Duchy Originals had sent out to advertise its Echina-Relief, Hyperi-Lift and Detox Tinctures products saying that it was misleading.^[97] The Prince personally wrote at least seven letters^[98] to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) shortly before they relaxed the rules governing labelling of such herbal products, a move that has been widely condemned by scientists and medical bodies.^[99]

On 31 October 2009 it was reported that Prince Charles had personally lobbied the Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, regarding greater provision of alternative treatments in the NHS.^[96]

In 2010, following accounting irregularities noted by the auditor, two former officials at the Prince's Foundation were arrested for fraud believed to total £300,000.^[100] Four days after the arrests, the Foundation announced that it would close, claiming that it "has achieved its key objective of promoting the use of integrated health."^[101] The charity's finance director, accountant George Gray, was convicted of theft totalling £253,000 and sentenced to three years in prison.^[102][103] The Prince's Foundation was re-branded and re-launched in late 2010 as The College of Medicine.^[102][104] It continues to act as an alternative medicine lobby group.^[105]

Humanitarian issues[link]

The Prince and Princess of Wales after the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of York, 1986

The plight of various peoples has been a target of Charles' efforts, predominantly the long-term unemployed, people who have been in trouble with the law, people who are in difficulty at school, and people who have been in care. The Prince's Trust is the main outlet through which Charles works with young people, offering loans to groups, business people, and others who have had difficulty receiving outside support. Fundraising concerts are regularly held in benefit of the trust, with leading pop, rock, and classical musicians taking part. In Canada, Charles has also supported humanitarian projects, taking part, along with his two sons, in the ceremonies marking the 1998 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,^[50] and helping to launch the Canadian Youth Business Foundation in Saskatchewan in 2001, when he also visited Scott Collegiate, an inner-city school in Regina.

After spending time in the Northwest Territories in 1975, Charles formed a special interest in the Canadian north, as well as Canada's Aboriginal Peoples, the leaders of which he met and sometimes took time to walk and meditate with. Reflecting this association, the Prince of Wales has been conferred with special titles from First Nations communities: in 1996 Cree and Ojibway students in Winnipeg named the Prince Leading Star, and in 2001 he was dubbed Pisimwa Kamiwohkitahpamikohk, or "the sun looks at him in a good way", during his first visit to the province of Saskatchewan. He was also one of the first world leaders to express strong concerns about the human rights record of Nicolae Ceauşescu, initiating objections in the international arena,^[106] and subsequently supported the FARA Foundation,^[107] which runs Romanian orphanages.

Charles attended the Bilderberg Group conference in 1986 specifically to attend a debate on the South African economic crisis.^[108]

An example of his concern for humanitarian issues has been his recent (2011) launch of his Pakistan Recovery Fund which aims to raise a minimum of £2million towards health, education, reconstruction and livelihood projects.

Hobbies and sports[link]

Prince Charles and Prince William after a Polo Match at Ham Polo Club, London

Since his youth the Prince was an avid player of polo, as a part of competitive teams until 1992, and strictly for charity from then until 2005, after which he ceased to participate because of two notable injuries he suffered during play: in 1990 he broke his arm, and in 2001 was briefly unconscious after a fall.^[109] Charles also frequently took part in fox hunting, before the sport was banned in the United Kingdom in 2005. By the late 1990s, as opposition to the activity was growing, the Prince of Wales' participation in this activity was viewed as a "political statement" by those opposed to it, such as the League Against Cruel Sports, which launched the attack against Charles after he took his sons on the Beaufort Hunt in 1999, at a time when the government was trying to ban the hunting of foxes with hounds.^[110][111] The Prince has also been a keen salmon angler since youth, and a supporter of Orri Vigfússon's efforts to protect the North Atlantic Salmon. Charles has frequently fished the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, while he claims his most special angling memories are from his time in Vopnafjörður, Iceland.^[112]

Charles has also pursued the visual arts, focusing on watercolour, and exhibiting and selling a number of his paintings, as well as publishing books on the subject. In university he dabbled in acting, appearing in amateur productions of a comedic nature, an enjoyment of which continued later into the Prince's life, as evidenced by his organising of a comedy gala to celebrate his 60th birthday.^[113] He also has an interest in illusionism, becoming a member of The Magic Circle after passing his audition by performing the cups and balls effect.^[114] The Prince acts today as patron of a number of theatres, acting troupes, and orchestral ensembles, including the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and is reportedly a fan of Canadian singer and song writer Leonard Cohen.^[115] He is also a collector of automobiles, particularly the British marque Aston Martin, having acquired numerous models and such tight connections with the brand–being a frequent visitor to the factory and its service department, and a guest of honour at most of the company's special launch events– that special Prince of Wales edition Aston Martins have been created on occasion.

Charles is a supporter of Burnley Football Club.^[116]

Authorship[link]

The author of several books reflecting his various interests, Charles has also contributed a foreward or preface to numerous books by other writers on various topics, and has participated in many interviews for news programmes and documentaries. Books written by Charles include:

• The Old Man of Lochnagar, 1980 ISBN 0-374-35613-0
• A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture, 1989 ISBN 0-385-26903-X
• Watercolours, 1991 ISBN 0-316-88886-9
• Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming, 1993 (with Charles Clover) ISBN 0-671-79177-X
• The Garden at Highgrove, 2001 (with Candida Lycett Green) ISBN 1-84188-142-2
• Highgrove: Portrait of an Estate, 2002 (with Charles Clover) ISBN 1-84188-170-8
• The Elements of Organic Gardening, 2007 (with Stephanie Donaldson) ISBN 0-297-84416-4

In addition, he has written and presented the following documentary films:

• A Vision of Britain. Directed by Nicholas Rossiter. BBC, 1988^[117]
• The Earth in Balance: A Personal View of the Environment. Dir. James Hawes. BBC, 1990.^[118]

Narrated and presented by the Prince of Wales:

• Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. Dir. Stuart Sender, 2010.^[119]
• The Prince and the Composer: A Film about Hubert Parry. Dir. John Bridcut. BBC, 2011.^[120]

Official duties[link]

Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, 5 November 2009

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, during the 2006 Braemar Gathering

As Prince of Wales, Prince Charles undertakes a number of official duties on behalf of his mother, in her role as sovereign of any of the Commonwealth realms. He will frequently stand in for the Queen at the funerals of foreign dignitaries (which the Queen customarily does not attend), and at investitures into British orders. It was when he attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II that Charles caused controversy: when shaking hands with other guests, Charles was surprised to find himself shaking that of Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, who had been seated next to the Prince. Charles' office subsequently released a statement saying: "The Prince of Wales was caught by surprise and not in a position to avoid shaking Mr. Mugabe's hand. The Prince finds the current Zimbabwean regime abhorrent. He has supported the Zimbabwe Defence and Aid Fund which works with those being oppressed by the regime. The Prince also recently met Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, an outspoken critic of the government."^[121]

Both Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall travel abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom. The Prince has been regarded as an effective advocate of the country, with his visit to the Republic of Ireland, where he delivered a personally researched and written speech on Anglo-Irish affairs that was warmly received by Irish politicians and the media, being cited as an example.

Prince Charles tours Monmouth Museum, Wales with K. E. Kissack, curator, 1975

His service to the Canadian Armed Forces permits him to be informed of troop activities, and allows him to visit these troops while in Canada or overseas, taking part in ceremonial occasions. For instance, in 2001, the Prince placed a specially commissioned wreath, made from vegetation taken from French battlefields, at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and in 1981 he became the patron of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.

Prince Charles makes regular tours of Wales, going there for a week of engagements each summer, attending important national occasions, such as opening the Senedd. In 2000, Charles revived the tradition of the Prince of Wales having an official harpist, in order to foster Welsh talent at playing the harp, the national instrument of Wales. He and the Duchess of Cornwall also spend one week each year in Scotland, where the Prince is patron of a number of Scottish organisations.

Prince Charles is a Director of "The Royal Collection Trust".^[122] and an Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights.

On 27 March 2011, Prince Charles attended in the Christchurch memorial service at Westminster Abbey for acknowledging the generosity, sympathy and support New Zealand has received from the United Kingdom since the earthquake hit.^{[123][124][125]} On 16 November, Prince Charles attended a special service at Westminster Abbey as the Patron of the King James Bible Trust celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible in the presence of The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, clerics and thousands of worshippers.^[126]

In 2008, the Daily Telegraph declared Charles the "hardest-working member of the royal family."^[127] He carried out 560 official engagements in 2008,^[128] 585 in 2010,^[129][130] and over 600 in 2011.^[131]

Media[link]

Sometimes parodied, such as on Spitting Image, and by Craig Ferguson—in a segment known as The Rather Late Programme with Prince Charles—on The Late Late Show, Prince Charles has been a focus of the world media since his birth, attention that increased as he matured. Prior to his first marriage, he was presented as the world's most eligible bachelor on the cover of Time, and his various affairs and exploits were followed and reported. With his marriage to Diana the attention increased, though predominantly towards a Princess of Wales, who became a star attraction, chased by the paparazzi, and her every move (including every change in hairstyle) closely followed by millions. As their relationship began to deteriorate, Diana began to use the media to her advantage, and became closely involved in placing stories about the royal marriage in the press, thenceforth splitting the media's support, with Charles having The Mirror and the Telegraph on his side.

In their quest to gain ever more stories on a Prince of Wales, the media breached Charles' privacy on a number of occasions. In 2006, the Prince filed a court case against the Mail on Sunday, after excerpts of his personal journals were published, revealing his opinions on matters, such as the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997, in which Charles described the Chinese government officials as "appalling old waxworks."^[132] Mark Bolland, his ex-private secretary, declared in a statement to the High Court that Charles "would readily embrace the political aspects of any contentious issue he was interested in.... He carried it out in a very considered, thoughtful and researched way. He often referred to himself as a 'dissident' working against the prevailing political consensus."^[132] Jonathan Dimbleby has reported that the Prince "has accumulated a number of certainties about the state of the world and does not relish contradiction."^[133]

Others have used their past connections with the Prince to profit from the media, such as when an ex-member of Charles' household took to the press an internal memo in which Charles commented on ambition and opportunity, and which was widely interpreted as blaming meritocracy for creating a combative atmosphere in society. In retort, Charles stated: "In my view, it is just as great an achievement to be a plumber or a bricklayer as it is to be a lawyer or a doctor,"^[134] and the memo was cited in Lynne Truss' critique of British manners, Talk to the Hand, as a valid observation on how the positive motivational impact of meritocracy might be balanced against the negative impact of a competitive society.

Overall, Charles developed a dislike for the popular press, which was accidentally revealed when his comments to his son, William, during a press photo-call in 2005 was caught on a nearby microphone: "I hate doing this... These bloody people,"^[135] and about the BBC's royal reporter, Nicholas Witchell, in particular: "I can't bear that man. I mean, he's so awful, he really is."^[135]

The Prince of Wales though has appeared as himself on a number of occasions in continuing series. In 1984 he read his children's book, The Old Man of Lochnagar, on the BBC's Jackanory programme. The UK soap opera Coronation Street featured an appearance by Charles during the show's 40th anniversary in 2000,^[136] as did the New Zealand adult cartoon series bro'Town (2005), after he attended a performance by the show's creators during a tour of the country. He reportedly turned down an invitation to appear in a cameo role in an episode of Doctor Who.^{[137][dead link]} Charles also continues to give interviews, such as that which was conducted by Ant & Dec for the 30th anniversary of The Prince's Trust in 2006.

On 10 May 2012, Charles appeared on BBC to try his hand at being a weather presenter, reporting the forecast for Scotland as part of Holyrood Week. He injected humour in his report, asking, "Who the hell wrote this script?" as several references were made to royal residence locations.^[138]

Residences[link]

Clarence House, the former London residence of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, is the Prince of Wales' current official residence. Previously, he resided in an apartment at St James's Palace. Charles also holds a private estate in Gloucestershire, Highgrove House, and one in Scotland, the Birkhall estate near Balmoral Castle and also previously owned by the Queen Mother. Upon the occasion of his marriage to Diana, Charles had reduced his voluntary tax contribution from the profits generated by the Duchy of Cornwall from 50% to 25%.^[139]

In 2007 the Prince purchased a 192–acre (150 acres of grazing and parkland, and 40 acres (160,000 m²) of woodland) property in Carmarthenshire, and applied for permission to convert the farm into a Welsh home for him and the Duchess of Cornwall, to be rented out as holiday flats when the royal couple is not in residence.^[140] Though neighbours said the proposed alterations flouted local planning regulations, the application was put on hold while a report was drafted on how the alterations would affect the local bat population.^[141] Charles and Camilla took residence at the new property, called Llwynywermod, in June 2008.^[142]

In 2006 the Prince bought a house in the village of Viscri in south-eastern Transylvania, one of the Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania designated in 1993 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO; in 2008 he bought another house in the village of Valea Zălanului / Zalánpatak in the Székely Land region of Transylvania, a 16th century village probably founded by one of the Prince's Transylvanian ancestors. Both properties are rented out as guest houses when the Prince is not in residence.^[143][144]

Titles, styles, honours and arms[link]

The Prince of Wales's feathers badge comprises three silver (or white) feathers rising through a gold coronet of alternate crosses and fleur-de-lys. The motto "Ich Dien" (I serve) is on a dark blue ribbon beneath the coronet.

Titles and styles[link]

Charles has held a number of titles throughout his life, as the grandson of the monarch, the son of the monarch and, later, honoured in his own right with princely and noble titles. When in conversation with the Prince of Wales, the practice is to initially address him as Your Royal Highness and thereafter as Sir.

There has been speculation as to what regnal name the Prince will choose upon his succession to the throne. If he keeps his current first name, he will be known as Charles III. However, it was reported in 2005 that Charles has suggested he may choose to reign as George VII in honour of his maternal grandfather, and to avoid association with the Stuart kings Charles I (who was beheaded) and Charles II (who was known for his playboy lifestyle),^[145] as well as to be sensitive to the memory of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who was called "Charles III" by his supporters.^[145] Charles' office immediately denied this report.^[146]

Honours and honorary military appointments[link]

Charles' first honorary appointment was as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Wales in 1969; since that time, the Prince has also been installed as Colonel-in-Chief, Colonel, Honorary Air Commodore, Air Commodore-in-Chief, Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Honorary Colonel, Royal Colonel, and Honorary Commodore of at least 36 military formations throughout the Commonwealth. He is also the commander of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, which is the only foreign regiment in the British army.

Charles has also been the recipient of a number of honours and awards from various countries. He has been inducted into eight orders and received five decorations from amongst the Commonwealth realms, and has been the recipient of 17 different appointments and decorations by foreign states, as well as nine honorary degrees from universities in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Arms[link]

Arms of Charles, Prince of Wales Notes The Prince's own coat of arms are the escutcheon of the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom with a label for difference. The version used everywhere but Scotland is listed here. Within Scotland, the arms of the Duke of Rothesay, which quarters the arms of the Great Steward and of the Lords of the Isles, placing the arms of the heir apparent to the Scots throne on an inescutcheon in the centre, are used. Crest Upon the Royal helm the imperial crown Proper, thereon a lion statant gardant Or crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent overall an escutcheon of Royal Badge of Wales. Supporters Dexter a lion rampant gardant Or imperially crowned Proper, sinister a unicorn Argent, armed, crined and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or Motto ICH DIEN (German: I serve) Orders The Order of the Garter ribbon. HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE (French: Shame be to him who thinks evil of it) Other elements The whole differenced by a plain Label of three points Argent, as the eldest child of the sovereign. Banner The banners used by the Prince vary depending upon location. Apart from the exceptions below, the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom is used, differenced as in his arms with a label of three points argent, and the escutcheon of the arms of the Principality of Wales in the centre. This is the standard that is used outside the United Kingdom by the prince and also that used throughout the entire United Kingdom when the prince is acting in an official capacity associated with the UK Armed Forces. In Wales the banner is based upon the Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales, (the historic arms of the Kingdom of Gwynedd), which consist of four quadrants, the first and fourth with a red lion on a gold field, and the second and third with a gold lion on a red field. Superimposed is an escutcheon vert bearing the single-arched crown of the Prince of Wales. In Scotland the personal banner used since 1974 is based upon three ancient Scottish titles: Duke of Rothesay, (The heir apparent to the King of Scots), High Steward of Scotland and Lord of the Isles. The flag is divided into four quadrants as per the arms of the Chief of Clan Stewart of Appin; the first and fourth quadrants comprise a gold field with a blue and silver checkered band in the centre; the second and third quadrants displaying a black galley on a silver field. The arms are differenced from those of Appin by the addition of an inescutcheon bearing the tressured lion rampant of Scotland; defaced by a plain label of three points Azure to indicate the heir apparent. Also used in Scotland is a standard, viz the Royal Standard of Scotland, again defaced with a label of three points Azure to indicate the heir apparent. In Cornwall, the banner is "sable fifteen bezants Or", that is, a black field bearing fifteen gold coins, which Prince Charles uses in his capacity as Duke of Cornwall. The Prince of Wales also holds a personal heraldic banner for Canada, consisting of the shield of the Canadian Royal Arms defaced with both a blue roundel surrounded by a wreath of gold maple leaves, within which is a depiction of the Prince of Wales' feathers, and a white label of three points.[147] Badge Three ostrich feathers encircled by a gold coronet Symbolism As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the third of Ireland.

Issue[link]

Ancestry[link]

Due to the insistence of the royal family to remain to be called Windsor, Charles is a member of the House of Windsor. Those House of Windsor members who are male-line descendants of the Queen Elizabeth II belong in the male line to a cadet branch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (also known simply as the House of Glücksburg), a branch of the House of Oldenburg, ultimately descended from Elimar I, Count of Oldenburg. The male-line descendants of the Queen Elizabeth II are distinct from other members of the House of Windsor, who are descended in male line from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.^{[fn 1]}

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Charles, Prince of Wales bibliography

Notes[link]

Footnotes[link]

Citations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Charles, Prince of Wales on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• Official website of HRH The Prince of Wales
• Prince Charles as a Young Bachelor – slideshow by Life magazine
• Official website of 'The Prince's Trust'
• View an image of an official portrait of Prince Charles by David Griffiths
• The Prince's Official Canadian Visit (2001)
• Charles, Prince of Wales at the Internet Movie Database