Coordinates: 56°38′39″N 2°53′18″W / 56.64423°N 2.88842°W / 56.64423; -2.88842

Forfar
Scottish Gaelic: Baile Fharfair
Scots: Farfar
Forfar  Forfar shown within Angus
Population	13,206 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	NO455505
Council area	Angus
Lieutenancy area	Angus
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FORFAR
Postcode district	DD8
Dialling code	01307
Police	Tayside
Fire	Tayside
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Angus
Scottish Parliament	North Tayside
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Forfar ⁱ/ˈfɔrfər/ (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Fharfair) is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and today serves as the administrative centre for Angus Council.

Forfar is also a traditional market town, serving the outlying lowland farms of Strathmore in central Angus. The Scottish meat pastry snack Bridie is from Forfar.

History[link]

Chiefs met at a castle by Forfar Loch to plan how best to repel the Romans who invaded on several occasions between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. Ultimately the Romans prevailed, only to be displaced in the Early Middle Ages by the Picts.^[1] The Romans established a major Roman camp at Battledykes, approximately three miles north of Forfar; this camp was analysed to have held 50,000 to 60,000 men.^[2] From Battledykes northward the Romans established a succession of camps including Stracathro, Raedykes and Normandykes.^[3] A "claimant" to the throne, the daughter of the leader of the Meic Uilleim, who were descendants of King Duncan II, had her brains dashed out on Forfar market cross in 1215 while still an infant.^{[citation needed]}

The Meffan Museum is in the heart of the town. It was built by a daughter of the Provost Meffan as a bequest in 1898. It is home of the Forfar story. It is also an art gallery and a meeting place for local speakers, summer clubs for children and groups. The story of Forfar takes you from the history of the little cobbler shops to the burning of the witch Helen Guthrie. There is also a good selection of Pictish stones found in and around Forfar and Kirriemuir. The Large Class I Pictish stone, with a rare carving of a flower, is called the Dunnichen Stone. It was found in the early 19th century when a farmer from the East Mains of Dunnichen was ploughing. It was initially displayed at a church in the vicinity, then at Dunnichen House. In 1966 it was relocated at St Vigeans and finally moved to Dundee museum in 1972. After the Meffan Institute had been renovated it was brought to Forfar on a long term loan where it is displayed alongside the Kirriemuir Sculptured Stones. There is also a canoe, excavated from Forfar Loch, that dates back to the 11th century (one of two that were found).

Like other parts of Angus, Forfar was home to a very successful textile industry during and after the Industrial Revolution. In the late 18th century the firm of William Don & Co. (later William and John Don & Co) was founded in the town. The firm originally bought and sold webs of linen which were woven in local cottages, although it also operated a small weaving shed. In 1865 the firm merged with A J Buist, a Dundee based firm, and began construction of St James Works in Forfar. The partnership also oporated mills in Dundee and later built Station Works in Forfar, which contained some 300 looms. Workers housing was also built by the firm in Forfar. Don Brothers, Buist & Company Ltd, as the firm was known from 1904, built another works in Forfar, at Strang Street, in 1929. In 1960 it merged with another Dundee firm, Low Brothers & Co (Dundee) Ltd, eventually becoming Don & Low (Holdings) Ltd. The firm retains premises in Forfar, mainly producing woven and non-woven polypropylene industrial textile products and plastic food packaging.^[4][5][6][7]

In 1911 more than 20% of workers in Forfar were employed in the jute industry. Employment levels in this industry generally dramatically declined in other parts of Angus, including Dundee, during the next four decades. Notably in Dundee, the centre of the British jute industry, more than 40.4% of the working population had worked in the jute industry in 1911, but by 1951 this had fallen to just 18.5%. In Forfar, however this trend was not followed as percentage of the workforce employed in the jute industry had actually risen to 24.4% by 1951.^[8]

Governance[link]

Forfar is represented within Angus Council by the Forfar & District ward, from which four councillors are elected. The members elected from this ward are, as of 2012; Lynne Devine (Scottish National Party), Glennis Middleton (SNP), Colin Brown (Independent) and Ian McLaren (Independent).^[9]

Transport[link]

The town is located just off the main A90 Perth to Aberdeen road which now bypasses the town but once passed through the town. The town had a railway station until September 3, 1967 when it closed as part of the Beeching cuts. It was located on the main line of the Caledonian Railway from Glasgow to Aberdeen, which was the furthest north link in the chain of the West Coast Main Line from London. Lines also went to Dundee, Arbroath, Brechin and Kirriemuir. The station has been demolished and replaced by a small housing estate. However, a major locomotive shed remains and is in use for vehicle body manuacture. Some bridges and cuttings still survive but the site of the goods station, which was also the town's original railway station before the one near the county buildings was built, is now mainly residential properties. There are bus services to Dundee, Arbroath, Kirriemuir, Brechin etc.

Local sport[link]

The town has a second division football club, Forfar Athletic, who play at Station Park, as well as two junior clubs, Forfar West End and Forfar Albion. Dundee United Reserves also play at Forfar Athletic's ground, Station Park. Youth and Women's Football is also available in the town, with Forfar Boys F.C (boys only), Lochside Boys F.C [1](boys only) and Forfar Farmington F.C [2](boys, girls and women's) All the clubs have SFA Quality Mark Award at some level.

Rugby Union is represented in the town by Strathmore Rugby Football Club, who play their home games at Inchmacoble Park, beside Forfar Loch. Strathmore Cricket Club [3], founded in 1862, has played at Lochside Park since 1873. Forfar Loch is home to Forfar Sailing Club [4]

The town has a swimming pool and a separate dedicated leisure centre. It also has an ice rink which was built in the early 1990s and this is home to the local curling club. There are also many bowling clubs, and the Forfar Golf Club [5] which is situated at Cunninghill to the east of the town. Angus Gliding Club operates at Roundyhill, between Glamis and Kirriemuir.

It also has a newly built skatepark which is near the towns leisure center.

Education[link]

Forfar has recently seen a major change in its education structure, due to the Forfar-Carnoustie Schools Project.

There are currently three primary schools:

• Whitehills Primary School in Service Road. Whitehills contains a Gaelic Medium Unit where pupils are educated exclusively through the medium of Scottish Gaelic. The Head Teacher is Brenda Davie.

• Strathmore Primary School in St James' Road. The head teacher is Dawn Archibald.

• Langlands Primary School in Glamis Road. (Reopened in May 2009 after the original school buildings were demolished and an extensive period of rebuilding and relandscaping was carried out.)

There is one secondary school in the town:

• Forfar Academy [6] in Taylor Street, which has a roll of around 1,200 pupils making it one of the largest schools in Angus.

Previous primary schools in the town included:

Chapelpark Primary School in Academy Street (formerly the old Forfar Academy). This school was closed in 2007 and pupils were re-located to both Strathmore Primary and Whitehills Primary. However, the building is still in use as a school and was used by Whitehills Primary until their new school was completed in early 2008. It was home to Langlands Primary School, until the new school on that site was completed in May 2009. It is unknown what will happen to the Chapelpark building after this date, however it is considered to be one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the town. Many locals believe it would make a great library/museum.

Kirkriggs Primary School in St. James' Road, which was closed in 2007. Pupils were originally re-located to Langlands until the new school on this site was completed in early 2008. It has pupils from Chapelpark, Kirkriggs and Wellbrae Primaries and is known as Strathmore Primary School.

Wellbrae Primary School, which closed in 2007. Pupils were sent to Chapelpark Primary School, which has now been moved to Whitehills Primary School. The play areas of Wellbrae were all concrete.

Healthcare[link]

The local community hospital, the Whitehills Health and Community Care Centre, was built on the site of the old Whitehills Hospital building (the former hospital for infectious diseases) and opened in Spring 2005.

The new hospital replaced Forfar Infirmary, formerly the town's main hospital, as well as Whitehills Hospital. The Forfar Infirmary site has since been completely demolished, and sold off to developers.

The Fyfe-Jamieson maternity hospital closed some time ago; it was across the road from the Forfar Academy, but the site has since been built over with houses.

Places of worship[link]

Lowson Memorial Church

Forfar has three Church of Scotland congregations:

• East and Old Church, originally the parish kirk, with a tall slender spire, with steeple clock overlooking the town centre.
• Lowson Memorial Church, off Montrose Road. This is a category A listed church in late Scots Gothic style built in 1914 by A Marshall Mackenzie, who also designed Crathie Kirk. The church contains notable stained glass windows by Douglas Strachan. The church serves the east side of Forfar, and provides a mix of traditional and contemporary styles of worship.
• St Margaret's Church, in the West High Street, originally a Free Kirk.

It had been decided (by a Church of Scotland arbiter) that the East and Old Parish Church would close, and the congregation would be moving to St. Margaret's Church. This was brought back for discussion at Angus Presbytery due to a large vote against this decision. Now the East and Old and St Margaret's are to remain individual churches as they have always have been.

The East & Old Church is built on the site of the original place of worship that some of the monks of Restenneth Priory built hundreds of years before the one today. The adjoining graveyard has famous 'residents' such as botanist George Don, quite a few scholars and a man who blamed the witches of Forfar for poisoning him after ill words were exchanged between them.

Forfar East and Old Parish Church

The steeple is a focal point of Forfar, visible when entering the town from any direction. Although abutting the East & Old building, it is owned by the 'Town' and is not formally part of the church property; it is all but certain to be retained following any disposition of the church building.

The town also has churches of other denominations, including:

• St John the Evangelist Scottish Episcopal Church, East High Street, designed by Sir R Rowand Anderson and consecrated in 1881. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later to become Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was confirmed in this church.
• St Fergus Roman Catholic Church.

Other items of interest[link]

The Stag Forfar

The town is home to the renowned Forfar bridie, popular with locals and visitors. The Forfar bridie has been featured on many TV programmes. A recipe for the Forfar bridie was also featured in "Maw Broon's Cookbook".

Another feature of the town is the Forfar Loch Country Park, which is popular amongst locals as a walking venue. It is said that the Forfar Loch extended over much more of Forfar in the 1800s, going as far up as Orchardbank and Wellbrae. A drainage project brought the water level down. In about the same time period the loch was used to dump raw sewage; thankfully this practice is no longer continued: it is now treated sewage.

Her Majesty The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited the town and surrounding area in 2004 (the first time in around 30 years).

The town lies in Strathmore and is situated just off the main A90 road between Perth and Aberdeen, with Dundee (the nearest city) being 13 miles (21 km) away. It is approximately five miles (8 km) from Glamis Castle, home to the Bowes-Lyon family and where the late Princess Margaret, younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, was born in 1930.

The town is near to the Angus Glens, including Glen Doll, Glen Clova and Glen Prosen, that are popular with skiers and hill walkers. The area is notable for the beautiful scenery of the mountains and Strathmore.

The town holds many events throughout the year such as the bi-annual Forfar Mara-Fun, which raises money for charity, and the annual Forfar Food Festival highlighting some of the local food. There is also a monthly farmers' market.

Agriculture and tourism are some of the town's major industries. It also acts as an administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex currently on the outskirts of the town.

Forfar is also home to the Strathmore Mineral Water Co., Ltd., a bottled mineral water producer now run by AG Barr. The company's products are shipped worldwide.

Forfar is also known the "coo o Forfar". A householder left a tub of beer in the doorway to cool, and a passing cow drank it. When the owner of the cow was charged for the beer, a baillie ruled that if the beer was drunk at the doorway it was "deoch an doras" or "stirrup cup", to charge for which would be an insult to Scots hospitality. This became a byword: "Be like the coo o Forfar, an tak a stannin drink".^[10]

Public services[link]

Forfar Reid Hall

Forfar and the surrounding area is supplied with water by Scottish Water from Lintrathen and Backwater reservoirs in Glen Isla. Electricity distribution is by Scottish Hydro Electric plc, part of the Scottish and Southern Energy group.

Waste management is handled by Angus Council. There is a kerbside recycling scheme that has been in operation since September 2005. Cans, glass, paper and plastic bottles are collected on a weekly basis. Compostable material and non-recyclable material are collected on alternate weeks.^[11] Roughly two thirds of non-recyclable material is sent to landfill at Angus Council's site at Lochhead, Forfar and the remainder sent for incineration (with energy recovery) outside the council area.^[12]

A recycling centre is located at Queenswell Road. Items accepted include, steel and aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, electrical equipment, engine oil, fridges and freezers, garden waste, gas bottles, glass, liquid food and drinks cartons, plastic bottles, plastic carrier bags, rubble, scrap metal, shoes and handbags, spectacles, textiles, tin foil, wood and yellow pages. Angus council publishes details of where and how each product is processed.^[13] There are also glass banks at the Abbeygate and Tesco car parks.^[14] The Angus Council area had a recycling rate of 34.7% in 2007/08.^[11]

Healthcare is supplied in the area by NHS Tayside. The nearest hospitals with accident and emergency departments are Arbroath Infirmary^[15] and Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.^[16] Primary Health Care in Forfar is supplied by several practices, based at Ravenswood Surgery on New Road, Academy Medical Centre in Academy Street and Lour Road Group Practice.^[17][18][19] Forfar, along with the rest of Scotland is served by the Scottish Ambulance Service.^[20]

Law enforcement is provided by Tayside Police^[21] and Forfar is served by Tayside Fire and Rescue Service.^[22]

Notable people[link]

• Bon Scott, the legendary rock n' roll singer from the band AC/DC.

Eilley Bowers

• Eilley Bowers, in her time, one of the richest women in the United States, and owner of the Bowers Mansion, one of the then largest houses in the western United States. She was a Scottish farmer's daughter who emigrated, after converting to Mormonism as a teenager.
• Peter Ritchie Calder
• A. S. Neill
• Jack Lorimer, well known comedian and father of Max Wall
• Peter Reid, confectioner and philanthropist^[23]
• Joseph Wedderburn, mathematician, modern algebra, born in Forfar^[24]
• David Potter, sports author

Reference line notes[link]

External links[link]

Forfar Town Hall

• Local Community Website for Forfar, Angus
• Photographs of Forfar on the Geograph web site
• History of the town and photographs

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]