History UsefulNotes / CharlesIII

He's known to have quite the sense of humour and to be fond of [[BritishHumour British comedy]]. When attending galas like the Royal Variety Performance and We Are Most Amused, he's among those laughing the hardest, even at jokes at his own expense. He's the world's highest-ranking fan of ''Creator/MontyPython'' (and their forerunner ''Radio/TheGoonShow''). The former is appropriate as his coronation not only featured the Sovereign's Orb (which was immediately compared to the HolyHandGrenade of Antioch on social media), but also featured a 'strange woman' (Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons[[note]]She has the former job because UsefulNotes/LizTruss felt compelled to give her the latter and UsefulNotes/RishiSunak couldn't think of anything better to do with her after he took over[[/note]] Penny Mordaunt) with a sword.

The prospect of his actually assuming the throne was viewed with some ambivalence. For one thing, he's shown a certain taste for political meddling -- nothing major, but enough to qualify as overstepping, mostly along the lines of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_spider_memos writing letters to government ministers]] expressing his opinions on various matters at a time when monarchs with strong political views tend to be viewed with suspicion (though almost twenty years later, opinions which, for the most part, express strong environmental concern are perhaps more welcome and pertinent). For another, he's just not as beloved as his mother was (who benefited from several decades to become a national symbol in her own right) and his sons (who inherited Diana's charm and benefit from her halo of sainthood). Because of this, there was a relatively mild, completely illegal, but persistent, question of whether to skip him and go straight to William when the Queen died. There have even been plays written about it, and when ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' finished up, Creator/RichardCurtis didn't want to strike the sets, saying (rather presumptuously) that "Britain might need some cheering up when Charles becomes King."[[note]]Somewhat ironically, Elizabeth ended up outliving most of that show's regular cast, with the exceptions of Creator/DawnFrench and James Fleet.[[/note]] This apparently significantly irritated Charles as, by all accounts, he ''really'' wanted to be King. Frankly, you can't really blame him for having angsted over it; he was over 70 years old at the time, an age when most people have already retired, but was still an apprentice waiting to take on his ''real'' job -- which, in many respects, he was born to do, and which he could only have when his mother died; wanting a job that can only be taken upon the death of a parent after so long waiting for it and knowing that that's what it will take to finally have it must be a stressor almost unique in the modern world. He was the oldest ever heir apparent in British history and the oldest person ever to accede the throne.[[note]]He wasn't the oldest ever first in line -- that would be Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who was Heiress Presumptive from the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 until her (Sophia's) death in 1714 at age 83. (Sophia could at any point have been superseded by a legitimate child of Queen Anne, though as a practical matter, Anne was done having children by 1700, but the technical possibility allowed Charles to claim the title of oldest heir apparent, i.e. nobody can take his first spot in line while he lives.) The Queen would have had to live to be 105 for him to beat that record -- which was a distinct possibility, as Her Majesty seemed to be unstoppable even beyond Prince Philip's death, and death came upon her seemingly abruptly.[[/note]]

Charles III[[note]]"His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith" in full, "Papa" or "Pa" to his sons, (formerly) "Grandpa Wales" to his grandchildren, "Umpa" to his step-grandchildren when they were younger[[/note]] (born Charles Philip Arthur George, 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace, UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is the current King of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom, as well as 14 other countries[[note]]Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu[[/note]]. Known for most of his life as "Prince Charles", he acceded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, on September 8, 2022. His father was Elizabeth's consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed the previous year at age 99. His coronation happened on May 6, 2023, a little under one month shy of the 70th anniversary of his mother's own.

Charles III[[note]]"His Majesty Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith" in full, "Papa" or "Pa" to his sons, (formerly) "Grandpa Wales" to his grandchildren, "Umpa" to his step-grandchildren when they were younger[[/note]] (born Charles Philip Arthur George, 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace, UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is the current King of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom, as well as 14 other countries[[note]]Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu[[/note]]. Known for most of his life as "Prince Charles", he acceded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, on September 8, 2022. His father was Elizabeth's consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died the previous year at age 99. His coronation happened on May 6, 2023, a little under one month shy of the 70th anniversary of his mother's own.

It was long conjectured that when he did become King, he might not have used Charles as his regnal name.[[note]]Although there have only been three monarchs since 1066 who did not reign under their first given name: Victoria, who disliked and did not use her first name Alexandrina; her son Edward VII, who chose not to use his first name of Albert in order to let his father the Prince Consort "stand alone"; and his grandson, George VI, who was also Albert and known as Bertie like his grandpa, but went with George in honour of his father, George V, and to provide some continuity after the shock of his brother Edward VIII's abdication. It's far less of a "tradition" than people think.[[/note]] There was a perceived stigma attached to the name, as Charles I was beheaded (an event which marked the end of the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar) and Charles II is best remembered for having fathered illegitimate children by several mistresses. Also, "Charles III" was the regnal name of [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the Jacobite pretender to the throne also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie"]]. The rumour was that he would take the name George VII, in honour of his grandfather. Others hoped that he would use one of his other names as his regnal name and become [[AwesomeMcCoolname King Arthur]]. In the end, he went with Charles III, probably because after his mother's 70 years on the throne it was the only name people knew him by.

Owing to intermarriage among the royal families of UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}, he is related to all [[UsefulNotes/OtherRoyalFamilies other reigning hereditary monarchs in Europe]]. He is second cousin once removed to both King Harald V of Norway and King Felipe VI of Spain, third cousin once removed to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Philippe of Belgium, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and King Frederik X of Denmark, fifth cousin to both King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, and the fifth cousin once removed to [[UsefulNotes/TheMonegasqueRoyalFamily Prince Albert II of Monaco]].