King Charles III is celebrating his 76th birthday today. Here's the best photo from every year of his royal career.
Joe Giddens - WPA Pool / Getty Images
- King Charles III is celebrating his 76th birthday today.
- Charles was the longest-serving heir apparent before he became monarch in 2022.
- He's had many royal career highlights and personal experiences in the public eye.
1971: Having become the first heir to the throne to graduate with a university degree (a 2:2 from Trinity College Cambridge), Prince Charles flew himself to RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire to train as a jet pilot.
Pool Photo RAF - Handout / Getty Images
1972: After passing his RAF training, Charles embarked on a career in the Royal Navy.
AP Photo / B.O.P.
1973: The then-prince visited the Bahamas for the islands' last days as a British colony. After more than 300 years of British sovereignty, the Bahamas became an independent nation on July 9.
AP Photo
1974: Charles made his maiden speech in the House of Lords, becoming the first royal to do so since his great-great-grandfather Edward VII in 1884.
AP Photo
Source: The New York Times
1975: Continuing to dip into military training, Charles returned to Cambridge to receive his masters degree.
Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
1976: Prince Charles took command of his first ship, the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington. It was also his last year of active military service and the year he started his charity, The Prince's Trust.
AP Photo
Source: The Prince's Trust
1977: The prince appeared in a disastrous interview on Australian television. The host of the show "Countdown" suffered a complete meltdown on-air, even saying: "Your Royal Highness... oh, oh, I'm sweating like a pig."
Breathing Air / YouTube
1978: Prince Charles made the cover of TIME magazine. The publication described him as a "most uncommon bloke."
CAROLE CUTTNER / TIME
Source: TIME
1979: Prince Charles attended the funeral of his great uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, who was murdered by the IRA.
Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
1980: Prince Charles met Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. He also published a children's book, "The Old Man of Lochnagar," originally written for his younger brother Prince Edward.
Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Source: The Telegraph
1981: Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, who became the Princess of Wales. At the time of their February engagement, Diana was 19 years old, while Charles was 31.
AP Photo / Ron Bell, pool, file
1982: Prince William of Wales was born, and Charles became the first royal father to be present at the birth of his son.
AP Photo / David Caulkin
1983: The Prince and Princess of Wales toured Australia and New Zealand — a trip that was mirrored by newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.
AP Photo / Dave Caulkin
1984: Prince Harry was born, making the Wales' a family of four.
AP Photo
1985: Charles and Diana whipped the US into a frenzy when they visited Washington D.C. At the White House, the princess took to the dance floor with John Travolta.
AP Photo / Ronald Reagan Library, File
1986: Charles and Diana visited Tokyo, Japan, and watched a sumo tournament.
AP Photo / Katsumi Kasahara
1987: Charles and Diana were invited on a Majorcan holiday by the King of Spain. Charles later said his marriage had broken down completely by this point.
AP Photo
Source: The Guardian
1988: Charles diced with death while skiing with friends in Klosters, Switzerland, when an avalanche hit. The prince's friend Major Hugh Lindsay was killed and another friend, Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, was seriously injured.
AP Photo
Source: The Telegraph
1989: Prince Charles gave a speech at the Saving the Ozone Layer World Conference in London, saying "human beings have been upsetting that balance [of nature], persistently" since the Industrial Revolution.
Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Source: The Telegraph
1990: The prince broke his arm after falling off his horse during a game of polo. Charles later required a second operation after the fracture failed to heal.
AP Photo / Gill Allen
Source: The Telegraph
1991: The prince resigned as the patron of Scotland's national museum over a competition to design a new building. He said too much weight had been given to the opinion of "so-called experts."
AP Photo / Dave Caulkin, file
Source: BBC
1992: Andrew Morton published "Diana: Her True Story," detailing the breakdown of Charles and Diana's marriage. In December, the Prime Minister, John Major, announced to the House of Commons that The Prince and Princess of Wales had agreed to separate.
AP Photo / PA
1993: 'Camillagate' — The Daily Mirror leaked recordings of an explicit phone conversation between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in which the prince expressed his desire to live inside her trousers.
AP Photo / Richard Drew
Source: The Daily Mirror
1994: In this photo taken in Sydney, Australia, Prince Charles is pushed to safety by security personnel after 24-year-old student David Kang fired two blank rounds from a starter gun at him. Kang was protesting the treatment of Cambodian asylum seekers in Australia.
AP Photo / Bluey Thompson
Source: LA Times
1995: Diana gave an interview to Panorama where she said: "There were three of us in this marriage." British press reported that the Queen had written to Charles and Diana urging them to divorce.
AP Photo / Martin Cleaver
Sources: The Guardian, BBC, The New York Times
1996: Charles and Diana's marriage dissolved after 15 years. The princess was still regarded as a member of the royal family and continued to live in Kensington Palace.
AP Photo / Peter Jordan
Source: The Prince of Wales
1997: Princess Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris. Charles flew to Paris with Diana's two sisters to bring her body back to London.
AP Photo / John Gaps III
1998: Prince Charles dropped Prince Harry off at the prestigious Eton College where he would join his brother William as a boarder.
AP Photo / Pool
1999: Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles made their first public appearance together at The Ritz in London.
AP Photo / Alastair Grant, File
2000: Camilla met with the Queen for the first time at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. The meeting was a sign that Camilla was finally being accepted into the royal folds and by the public.
AP Photo / Kent Gavin / Pool
2001: Charles launched a report warning that half of all British villages no longer have a pub. "Rural pubs must draw on their resourcefulness and resilience," the prince said.
AP Photo / John Giles / WPA
2002: Charles visited Brazil and took to the football pitch before heading to Mexico as part of a royal visit.
AP Photo / Douglas Engle
2003: Prince Charles posed for a photo with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation.
AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth / Pool
2004: Charles shared a laugh with son Prince William during the family's annual skiing holiday in the Swiss Alps in March.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
2005: Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor, on April 9. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh did not attend, although they did host a reception.
Georges De Keerle/Getty Images
2006: Prince Charles greets former Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell during a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Prince's Trust.
AP
Source: BBC
2007: The Prince of Wales was awarded the Global Environmental Citizen Award from Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment.
Stephen Chernin-POOL/Getty Images
Source: The Harvard Gazette
2008: Prince Charles celebrated his 60th birthday — the first Prince of Wales to reach this milestone without becoming monarch.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
2009: Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, presented him with the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour on May 18, 2009 — the highest accolade the society can give.
Sang Tan/WPA Pool/Getty Images
2010: The Prince of Wales dabbled in a putt or two ahead of the Ryder Cup golf tournament in Newport, Wales.
Andrew Redington / Getty
2011: Charles' son Prince William married Kate Middleton in a celebration that caught the attention of the entire world. It was also the year Prince Charles became the oldest heir apparent to bear the title Prince of Wales.
AP
2012: The whole country — and the world — celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.
AP
2013: Prince Charles became a grandfather for the first time when Kate Middleton gave birth to Prince George. He looked pretty delighted to receive a teddy bear to give to his new grandson a few days later.
Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images
2014: The Invictus Games, an international sports event for wounded warriors founded by Prince Harry, took place in September 2014 in London.
Chris Jackson / Getty
2015: During a 12-day tour of New Zealand and Australia, the Prince of Wales placed a poppy on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Mick Tsikas - Pool/Getty Images
2016: As part of a celebration for the 500th Anniversary of the Royal Mail, Prince Charles took a ride on a motorbike that was once used for delivering telegrams.
Chris Jackson / Getty
2017: In November, Charles spent three days visiting the Caribbean islands that were hit by earthquakes in September. Here, he surveys the devastation in Barbuda.
Chris Jackson / Getty
2018: Prince Charles took Meghan Markle's arm as he prepared to walk her down the aisle when she married his son, Prince Harry. The Duchess of Sussex did not have her own father present at the wedding.
Dominic Lipinski/ - WPA Pool/Getty Images
2019: Charles became a grandfather again, this time to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first son, Archie Harrison. He attended the christening ceremony alongside the royal family in July.
Chris Allerton/Getty Images
2020: It was a difficult year for Charles, who tested positive for COVID-19 in March shortly before his son, Prince William, also tested positive in April. "I thought to myself, if anybody is going to beat this, it's going to be him," William told the BBC of his father's recovery.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/Twitter
Source: BBC
2021: Prince Charles was one of 30 guests permitted to attend Prince Philip's funeral on April 17. Charles' father died on April 9 at the age of 99.
Max Mumby/Getty Images
2022: Charles became King Charles III upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8. He led the procession at the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey.
MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Image
2023: King Charles celebrated his coronation in May. That same year, the palace announced that Camilla's title would change from "Queen Consort" to "Queen."
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
2024: It's been a tough year for King Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer in January. He has continued royal duties, and most recently undertook a visit to Australia in October.
Jonathan Brady - Pool/Getty Images
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