Charles, Prince of Wales

Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur  born 14 November 1948), is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Known alternatively in South West England as Duke of Cornwall and in Scotland as Duke of Rothesay,

Early life and education

Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948, at 9:14 pm (GMT), the first child of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was baptised in the palace's Music Room by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on 15 December 1948.

When Prince Charles was aged three his mother's accession as Queen Elizabeth II made him her heir apparent. As the monarch'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 Charles attended his mother's coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, seated alongside his grandmother and aunt.

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 footballbecause the boys were never deferential to anyone on the football field. 

Created Prince of Wales

Charles was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 26 July 1958,though his investiture as such was not conducted until 1 July 1969, when he was crowned by his mother in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle. He took his seat in the House of Lords in 1970 and made his maiden speech in June 1974. Later in the decade he became the first member of the Royal Family since King George I of Great Britain 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.^{[citation needed]} Charles also began to take on more public duties, founding The Prince's Trust in 1976, and travelling to the United States in 1981.Charles is the oldest heir apparent to bear the title Prince of Wales, and the second-longest serving Prince of Wales, behind Edward VII,

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,

Military training and career

Following family tradition, Charles served in the navy and air force. After requesting and receiving Royal Air Force training during his second year at Cambridge, on 8 March 1971, he flew himself to the Royal Air Force College Cranwell to train as a jet pilot.[31] Following the passing-out parade that September, he 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). He also qualified as a helicopter pilot at RNAS Yeovilton in 1974, just prior to joining 845 Naval Air Squadron

On 9 February 1976, he took command of the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington for his last ten months serving actively in the navy.He learned to fly on a Chipmunk basic pilot trainer, a BAC Jet Provost jet trainer, and a Beagle Basset multi-engine trainer; he then regularly flew the Hawker Siddeley Andover, Westland Wessex and BAe 146 aircraft of The Queen's Flight