Grab your history hats, gang – it’s time to find out about our monarch! Take a trip back through time and check out our top ten King Charles III facts…

10 facts about King Charles III

King Charles III | The young Prince sits in a toy car, clutching a white fluffy toy. His mother, Elizabeth, looks down at him happily. They are outside a large house.

1. King Charles III was born at 9.14pm on 14 November 1948.

He was born at Buckingham Palace, London, to parents Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess) and Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

2. He became King on 8 September 2022.

Aged 73, King Charles III became the oldest monarch ever crowned in British history when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II (below, left) passed away in Balmoral, Scotland. He had been heir apparent (the next person to be crowned) since he was 3 years old.

King Charles III | Charles, wearing a dark suit and a white rose in his lapel, kisses the hand of his mother Queen Elizabeth, who is wearing a pal green jacket and black gloves. They are surrounded by greenery, at a flower show.

3. From 1967 to 1970, he studied history at Cambridge University.

That makes him the first monarch in UK history with a university degree!

4. King Charles III can speak Welsh.

He spent two months learning the language as he prepared to become the Prince of Wales in 1969.

King Charles III | In this black and white photograph, a young Charles stands behind two microphones and gives a speech. He is wearing a black suit and looking earnestly into the crowd.

5. The King is a qualified pilot and diver.

While serving in the military, King Charles III trained as a jet and helicopter pilot and became an accomplished diver. He’s even explored shipwrecks like The Mary Rose – King Henry VIII‘s flagship!

6. Plus, he’s a keen watercolour painter.

Not only that, he’s also a published author and music lover, playing the cello in his university orchestra.

Charles sits with a sketchpad on his knee. He's outside, with trees behind him, and wearing a cream suit. He is sketching with a pencil.

7. As Prince of Wales, he founded nearly 20 charities.

Together, these charities raise £140 million each year for good causes! He’s also passionate about the environment – as Prince, he spoke out about plastic pollution as early as 1970, drove an electric car and planted many trees during royal engagements.

King Charles III facts | Charles plants a spindly tree into a green grass lawn. Three well-dressed people watch him. He is wearing a grey suit and using a large shovel to move soil around the plant.

8. He’s the reigning monarch in 14 other countries, as well as the UK.

These include Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Jamaica. As King, he’s also the only person in the UK who can travel without a passport and drive without a licence – cool!

9. King Charles III is no stranger to an audience.

Before he became King, he featured in UK TV show Coronation Street, participated in stage magicians’ group the Magic Circle and presented the BBC weather forecast.

Charles stands in front of a large weather map, earnestly speaking to camera

10. His son, Prince William, is next in line for the throne.

The King has two children – Princes William and Harry – and five grandchildren. Prince William (below, right) is next in line to become King, and was named the Prince of Wales in 2022.

King Charles III | King Charles sits outside a ski hut. Prince William is sat to his right, and Prince Harry to his left. They are all smiling at the camera.

What do you think of our facts about King Charles III? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Image credits: Prince in car (c) Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS; Prince and Queen (c) Sang Tan/WPA Pool/Getty Images; Prince gives a speech (c) Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Prince sketching (c) Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images; Prince planting tree (c) Brian Morrison/Northern Ireland Office via Getty Images; Prince reads weather (c) Andrew Milligan – WPA Pool/Getty Images; Prince and sons (c) Anwar Hussein/Getty Images; featured image (c) Hugo Burnand-Pool/Getty Images; header image (c) Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse.

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COMMENTS

  • Noel Moody

    He owns all the swans in the uk

  • Pizza

    I love this website

  • Tiana

    It's really usefull!

  • jack

    good facts

  • Anya

    Thanks for information

  • kristan

    amazing

  • wow

  • Jacob

    very useful facts

  • Remy

    Wow laugh a lot nice such cool pictures

  • Akshara

    I never knew prince Charles played the cello

  • Angela

    Great information Thanks!

  • Lillie-mai

    Wow thanks helped me alot in my homework

  • it helped me with my work a lot

  • Kye

    Wow I didn't know that

  • robyn

    this helped me in one of my history lessons good job.

  • LucasandGilesofpapplewick

    Great facts

  • Quiet-ish

    I didn't know any of this before!

  • stamol

    amazing so much deatail

  • Anna

    I loved the that he can speak Welsh because I am half Welsh.

  • I love how you knew the exact time he was born

  • Ivy

    WOW! Very helpful for a school project

  • emma

    wow i didnt realise hes so clever

  • Bob

    Very interesting facts both for adults and children!

  • Annabel Paling

    The facts were fascinating I especially liked the watercolour fact because I'm into watercolour 's too!

  • Pearl

    These facts are amazing ! I'm glad I know more about him !

  • These are really interesting facts. I didn’t know these before :)

  • Brian

    Thanks it helped my homework

  • gud

    This helped me in my 4 paragraph biography

  • Anna Denison

    Not bad provided he does do what the queen did for all of us

  • cool

  • Wow

    Thanks helped me a lot Im my homework

  • Bird

    Cool

  • cata

    coooool

  • Emma

    cool

  • Effie

    this is so cool

  • effie

    these are not fun facts but I'm really impressed

  • Sky_88

    There is so many cool facts I love it it is so interesting i’m using the website for my homework

  • Easkey

    It was very helpful for my school project thank you

  • sofia

    its so cool

  • Wow I love these things

  • phoenix

    very interesting and very helpful (:

  • cool

  • hello

    this is really cool now i know 10 stuff about him

  • Ishaan

    I didn't know number 6.

  • Ella

    Wow I didn’t know this about him.

  • Mars

    Damn, that's just cool and supa-interesting.

  • Grace

    Wow!

  • Darcey

    I don't like him

  • liam.c

    boo king charles boo!

  • Mic

    This is so cool I read it 5 times

  • Emily

    I dont like king charles

  • Haseeb

    The royal family is big and special

  • Noah

    AWSOME!

  • Mia

    These facts were very interesting.

  • Elsie

    Awesome!

  • Lil

    Interesting

  • Katie

    I love the royal family!

  • Archie

    I really enjoyed those facts!!!

  • Eliza star

    Wow I didn't know that a Prince \king could do that! EPIC

  • Emily

    Nice facts!!

  • William Goodband

    He will be a great king,may he live to award himself a letter of congratulations when he reaches 100 years old.

  • Iona

    This website really interesting

  • Millycatmeow

    Love this!read it twice!!!!!

  • Ally

    Thank you so much, National Geo Kids, I learned so much about King Charles III !!!! Thank you so much for your hard work.

  • Lily

    How cool!!!!!!!!!

  • MordechaiT

    1 more fun fact about King Charles III. He has the same birthday as Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Meow

    I loved the facts and now I know more about King Charles the III

  • francesca2377

    Neato! I like that he's a multitasking sort of person. I hope I get to meet the King someday.

  • Elyse GB

    Amazing love the royalty!!

  • Mini poodle

    I wonder how he learned that language

  • lovely

  • alisha

    good

  • Sarah Mc Laughlin Mason

    I love the fact that King Charles is multi talented. It takes time to develop talents and many of us have forgotten how to do that.

  • Amazing facts

  • Kingqueen

    Omg most people have never seen another person on the throne

  • Sarah

    I hope he is going to be a good king

  • sparkeldolphin9

    so intresting

  • John

    He will be a good king

  • Rachel

    Wow that's cool

  • Cat_the_teddy

    Very intresting

  • sarah

    he's so cute as a baby

  • essy j

    your mags r epic i love looking at all the animals and what the public have sent in ~ big fan of your work

  • Mal

    Amazing ☺can't wait for more

  • pop

    I didn't know he liked to paint with water colours

  • Anna

    Wow!

  • it helped me in my reaserch :) :) :) !!!

  • bob

    good facts

  • Alayna

    Very helpful, good to know about the king.

  • BOB THE BUILDER

    thanks. you helped me in my history assignment

  • CoolRhino

    amazing

  • koda

    good

  • Tahlia

    Wow it helped me a lot, we will probably have kings for the rest of our life time

  • ICE_464

    Nice

  • Ellam

    This is a really interesting article + I ❤ the mag as well.

  • essy j

    it really helped with my homework!!! :)

  • Unknown

    Awesome

  • C.Marsh

    thank you you have helped me in school

  • isabcrom

    wowwww

  • sidney

    cool

  • Jake

    Awesome!

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