Editing Charles III (section)

== Early life, family, and education ==
[[File:Prince Charles Christening Family Portrait.jpg|thumb|Christening of Charles (centre, wearing the [[royal christening gown]]) in 1948: (from left to right) his grandfather King George VI; his mother, Princess Elizabeth, holding him; his father, Philip; and his grandmother [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]]|alt=An infant Charles in a white christening gown with his parents and grandparents]]
Charles was born at 21:14 ([[GMT]]) on 14 November 1948,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=38455 |date=15 November 1948 |page=1}}</ref> during the reign of his maternal grandfather, [[King George&nbsp;VI]], as the first child of [[Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh]] (later Queen Elizabeth II), and [[Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]].{{sfn|Brandreth|p=120|2007}} He was delivered by [[caesarean section]] at Buckingham Palace.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2023/may/01/king-charles-from-excessively-shy-boy-to-monarch-in-waiting|title=King Charles: 71 facts about his long road to the throne|work=The Guardian|first=Archie|last=Bland|date=1 May 2023|access-date=5 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227221026/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2023/may/01/king-charles-from-excessively-shy-boy-to-monarch-in-waiting|archive-date=27 February 2024}}</ref> His parents had three more children, [[Anne, Princess Royal|Anne]] (born 1950), [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Andrew]] (born 1960) and [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Edward]] (born 1964). He was [[Infant baptism|christened]] ''Charles Philip Arthur George'' on 15 December 1948 in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace by the [[archbishop of Canterbury]], [[Geoffrey Fisher]].{{efn|He was reportedly named "Charles" after his godfather [[Haakon VII of Norway]] (born Prince Carl of Denmark), who was called "Uncle Charles" by [[Elizabeth II]].<ref>{{cite book|page=68|title=Charles, Prince of Wales|year=1980|first=Anthony|last=Holden|isbn=978-0-330-26167-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=215550&sek=27262&scope=27248|title=Close ties through the generations|date=8 September 2022|work=The Royal House of Norway|access-date=23 September 2023|archive-date=23 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923095304/https://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=215550&sek=27262&scope=27248|url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{efn|Prince Charles's godparents were: the [[George VI|King of the United Kingdom]] (his maternal grandfather); the [[Haakon VII of Norway|King of Norway]] (his paternal cousin twice removed and maternal great-great-uncle by marriage, for whom Charles's great-great-uncle the [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|Earl of Athlone]] stood proxy); [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] (his maternal great-grandmother); [[Princess Margaret]] (his maternal aunt); [[Prince George of Greece and Denmark]] (his paternal great-uncle, for whom the Duke of Edinburgh stood proxy); the [[Princess Victoria of Hesse and the Rhine|Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven]] (his paternal great-grandmother); the [[Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma|Lady Brabourne]] (his cousin); and the Hon [[David Bowes-Lyon]] (his maternal great-uncle).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Christening of Prince Charles |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-an-exhibition-to-celebrate-his-sixtieth-0/the |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217142032/https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-an-exhibition-to-celebrate-his-sixtieth-0/the |archive-date=17 December 2021 |access-date=17 December 2021 |website=Royal Collection Trust}}</ref>}}<ref name="PoWsite">{{Cite web |title=HRH The Prince of Wales {{!}} Prince of Wales |url=https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/biographies/hrh-prince-wales |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409101949/https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/biographies/hrh-prince-wales |archive-date=9 April 2023 |access-date=13 September 2022 |publisher=Clarence House}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Book of the Baptism Service of Prince Charles |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/royal-childhood/buckingham-palace/the-book-of-the-baptism-service-of-prince-charles |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420021106/https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/royal-childhood/buckingham-palace/the-book-of-the-baptism-service-of-prince-charles |archive-date=20 April 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=Royal Collection Trust}}</ref>

[[George VI died]] on 6 February 1952 and Charles's mother acceded to the throne as Elizabeth&nbsp;II; Charles immediately became the [[heir apparent]]. Under a charter of [[Edward III]] in 1337, and as the monarch's eldest son, he automatically assumed the traditional titles of [[Duke of Cornwall]] and, in the Scottish peerage, the titles [[Duke of Rothesay]], [[Earl of Carrick]], [[Baron of Renfrew (title)|Baron of Renfrew]], [[Lord of the Isles]], and [[Prince and Great Steward of Scotland]].{{sfn|Brandreth|p=127|2007}} The following year, Charles attended [[Coronation of Elizabeth II|his mother's coronation]] at [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Charles made history when he watched the Queen's coronation aged four|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/prince-charles-mother-princess-anne-buckingham-palace-british-b2326908.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426035608/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/prince-charles-mother-princess-anne-buckingham-palace-british-b2326908.html|first=Laura|last=Elston|date=26 April 2023|access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=26 April 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

When Charles turned five, Catherine Peebles was appointed as [[governess]] to oversee his education at Buckingham Palace.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRye55LCNFYC&pg=PA215 |title=Royal Education: Past, Present, and Future |last2=Lawton |first2=Denis |date=2003 |publisher=F. Cass |isbn=978-0-7146-8386-7 |page=215 |access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref> He then commenced classes at [[Hill House School]] in [[west London]] in November 1956.<ref>{{cite news|title=Name etched in gold, King Charles' school remembers him|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/prince-charles-ap-london-elizabeth-ii-buckingham-palace-b2330092.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525084745/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/prince-charles-ap-london-elizabeth-ii-buckingham-palace-b2330092.html|first=Danica|last=Kirka|date=1 May 2023|access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=25 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Charles was the first heir apparent to attend school, rather than be educated by a private tutor.<ref name="time 1988">{{Cite magazine |last1=Johnson |first1=Bonnie |last2=Healy |first2=Laura Sanderson |last3=Thorpe-Tracey |first3=Rosemary |last4=Nolan |first4=Cathy |date=25 April 1988 |title=Growing Up Royal |url=http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/diana/readingroom/8191/4_25.html |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050331004503/http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/diana/readingroom/8191/4_25.html |archive-date=31 March 2005 |accessdate=4 June 2009}}</ref> He did not receive preferential treatment from the school's founder and headmaster, [[Stuart Townend (headmaster)|Stuart Townend]], who advised the Queen to have Charles train in [[Association football|football]], because the boys were never deferential to anyone on the football field.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 October 2002 |title=Lieutenant Colonel H. Stuart Townend |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/inspiration/ski-holiday/lieutenant-colonel-h-stuart-townend-l8pgv825p7r |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622192950/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lieutenant-colonel-h-stuart-townend-l8pgv825p7r |archive-date=22 June 2018 |access-date=29 May 2009 |work=[[The Times]] |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> Charles subsequently attended two of his father's former schools: [[Cheam School]] in Hampshire,<ref name=debrett/> from 1958,<ref name="schooling">{{Cite web |date=26 December 2018 |title=About the Prince of Wales |url=https://www.royal.uk/the-prince-of-wales |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509124719/https://www.royal.uk/the-prince-of-wales |archive-date=9 May 2016 |publisher=Royal Household}}</ref> followed by [[Gordonstoun]], in the north-east of Scotland, beginning classes there in April 1962.<ref name="schooling" />{{sfn|Brandreth|p=139|2007}} He later became patron of Gordonstoun in May 2024.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/king-charles-becomes-patron-former-school-scotland-gordonstoun-8654073|first=Bailey|last=Richards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526225948/https://people.com/king-charles-becomes-patron-former-school-scotland-gordonstoun-8654073|title=King Charles becomes patron of his former Scottish school depicted in The Crown as 'absolute hell'|magazine=People|date=25 May 2024|archive-date=26 May 2024|access-date=27 May 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his 1994 authorised biography by [[Jonathan Dimbleby]], Charles's parents were described as physically and emotionally distant and Philip was blamed for his disregard of Charles's sensitive nature, including forcing him to attend Gordonstoun, where he was bullied.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rocco |first=Fiammetta |date=18 October 1994 |title=Flawed Family: This week the Prince of Wales disclosed still powerful resentments against his mother and father |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/flawed-family-this-week-the-prince-of-wales-disclosed-still-powerful-resentments-against-his-mother-and-father-but-they-also-suffered-in-their-early-years-fiammetta-rocco-delves-into-the-royal-childhoods-that-went-1443791.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216032258/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/flawed-family-this-week-the-prince-of-wales-disclosed-still-powerful-resentments-against-his-mother-and-father-but-they-also-suffered-in-their-early-years-fiammetta-rocco-delves-into-the-royal-childhoods-that-went-1443791.html |archive-date=16 February 2022 |access-date=15 February 2022 |work=[[The Independent (UK)]] |publisher=Independent Digital News & Media Ltd |issn=1741-9743 |oclc=185201487}}</ref> Though Charles reportedly described Gordonstoun, noted for its especially rigorous curriculum, as "[[Oflag IV-C|Colditz]] in [[kilt]]s",<ref name="debrett">{{Cite web |title=HRH The Prince of Wales |url=http://www.debretts.com/people/royal-family/royal-portraits/prince-charles.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704195647/http://www.debretts.com/people/royal-family/royal-portraits/prince-charles.aspx |archive-date=4 July 2012 |access-date=27 August 2012 |publisher=Debrett's}}</ref> he later praised the school, stating it had taught him "a great deal about myself and my own abilities and disabilities". He said in a 1975 interview he was "glad" he had attended Gordonstoun and that the "toughness of the place" was "much exaggerated".<ref name="Colditz_kilts">{{Cite news |last=Rudgard |first=Olivia |date=10 December 2017 |title=Colditz in kilts? Charles loved it, says old school as Gordonstoun hits back at The Crown |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/10/prince-charles-school-hits-back-crown-colditz-kilts-portrayal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620040626/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/10/prince-charles-school-hits-back-crown-colditz-kilts-portrayal |archive-date=20 June 2018 |access-date=13 December 2017 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006}}</ref> In 1966, Charles spent two terms at the [[Timbertop]] campus of [[Geelong Grammar School]] in Victoria, Australia, during which time he visited Papua New Guinea on a school trip with his history tutor, Michael Collins Persse.<ref name="powedu">{{Cite web |title=The Prince of Wales&nbsp;– Education |url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/the-prince-of-wales/biography/education |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113072216/http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/the-prince-of-wales/biography/education |archive-date=13 November 2012 |access-date=8 December 2012 |publisher=Clarence House}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 1966 |title=The New Boy at Timbertop |volume=33 |page=7 |work=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |issue=37 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51384379 |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401092057/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51384379 |archive-date=1 April 2021 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}; {{Cite news |date=1966 |title=Timbertop – Prince Charles Australia |publisher=[[British Pathé]] |format=Video with audio, 1 min 28 secs |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1AMDaaiHQ4 |url-status=live |access-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311031256/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1AMDaaiHQ4 |archive-date=11 March 2021 |via=YouTube}}</ref> In 1973, Charles described his time at Timbertop as the most enjoyable part of his whole education.<ref>{{Cite news |work=Australian Associated Press |date=31 January 1973 |title=Prince had happy time at Timbertop |volume=47 |page=11 |publisher=[[The Canberra Times]] |issue=13,346 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110705075 |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401092105/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110705075 |archive-date=1 April 2021 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> Upon his return to Gordonstoun, he emulated his father in becoming [[head boy]], and left in 1967 with six [[GCE O-levels]] and two [[A-level]]s in history and French, at grades B and C respectively.<ref name=powedu/>{{sfn|Brandreth|p=145|2007}} On his education, Charles later remarked, "I didn't enjoy school as much as I might have; but, that was only because I'm happier at home than anywhere else".<ref name=Colditz_kilts/>

Charles broke royal tradition when he proceeded straight to university after his A-levels, rather than joining the [[British Armed Forces]].<ref name=debrett/> In October 1967, he was admitted to [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], where he studied [[archaeology]] and [[anthropology]] for the first part of the [[Tripos]] and then switched to [[Faculty of History, University of Cambridge|history]] for the second part.<ref name=PoWsite/><ref name=powedu/><ref>{{Harvnb|Brandreth|p=151|2007}}</ref> During his second year, he attended the [[University College of Wales]] in [[Aberystwyth]], studying [[Welsh history]] and the [[Welsh language]] for one term.<ref name=powedu/> Charles became the first British heir apparent to earn a university degree, graduating in June 1970 from the [[University of Cambridge]] with a [[British undergraduate degree classification|2:2]] Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.<ref name=powedu/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Fiona |date=10 September 2022 |title=God Save The King! |url=https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/news/god-save-the-king |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914213129/https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/news/god-save-the-king |archive-date=14 September 2022 |access-date=14 September 2022 |website=Trinity College Cambridge}}</ref> Following standard practice, in August 1975, his Bachelor of Arts was promoted to a [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|Master of Arts]] (MA Cantab) degree.<ref name=powedu/>[[File:Elizabeth, Philip, Charles and Anne.jpg|thumb|left|With his parents and sister Anne, October 1957|alt=A young Prince Charles with his mother, Elizabeth II; his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; and his sister, Princess Anne]]