Prince Charles, Duke of Clarence and Avondale

Full name
	Charles Oscar Frederick

Prince Charles
Prince Charles
Duke of Clarence and Avondale
British Ambassador to Jordan
In office	1952 - 1960
Preceded by	Sir Alec Kirkbride
Succeeded by	Sir Charles Wingfield
Monarch	Charles III
Born	Charles Oscar Frederick; 1 February 1927; Drottningholm Palace, Sweden
Died	11 November 2002 (aged 75); Reykjavík, Iceland
Burial	14 November 2002; Westminster Abbey, London
Spouse	Astrid of Norway (m. 1953)
Issue; Detail	Alfred, Duke of Clarence and Avondale;
Full name
Full name
	Charles Oscar Frederick
House	Hanover
Father	Frederick, Duke of Clarence and Avondale
Mother	Astrid of Sweden
Religion	Protestant

Prince Charles, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Charles Oscar Frederick; 1 February 1927 - 11 November 2002) was a British prince and diplomat, serving as the British ambassador to Jordan, where he formed a strong bond with the Jordanian king Hussein.

A direct descendant of the ruling houses of Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the defunct royal house of the German Empire, Charles and his two sisters inherited their parent's lifelong dedication in the fields of diplomacy and humanitarianism, leading them to be widely renowned for their outspoken liberalism and strong support for the cause of human rights.

Early Life

Charles was born on February 1st, 1927 as the eldest child and only son of Prince Frederick, Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Princess Astrid of Sweden at the Swedish royal residence of Drottningholm Palace. In an abrupt decision by his mother, Charles was named entirely off his Swedish ancestors which included that of his maternal grandfather (whom he bore similar resemblance to), and his maternal great-grandfather with the exception of his own father.

Due to the relatively unstable political climate in the United Kingdom, Charles was ultimately brought up in his mother's country of Sweden. At the same time, his father had been entrusted with a diplomatic mission to Siam and as a result, the young prince and his mother would occasionally move to the Stockholm Palace where Charles would at times live with his Swedish relatives during his father's periodical absentees. Regardless, both son and father shared a warm familial relationship, as the latter was said to made the best out of the time he was able to spend with his family whilst being temporarily away from his ambassadorial duties.

Growing up, Charles began to spoke his Swedish-taught language from the age of five, in which after just two years later, he was said to had "possessed the natural dialect of an actual Swede" though by the insistence of his British relatives on the other end, he maintained a degree of fluency in the English language as well. Additionally, he was strictly taught by his mother in the arts of cooking and various household works which, despite its uncommon association with royal princes was seen by the latter as an effective tool of moulding the young Charles into an "independent, and self-caring gentleman" in the later future. He also took up lesssons from her in horse riding, swimming and golfing, all of which he would later go on to display much promising capabilities in.

Prior to the onset of the Second World War, as his father had then assumed a gubernatorial position in Egypt, Charles became consequently exposed to the Egyptian and Muslim culture in the country led by kings Fuad I and later Farouk from 1936. Reportedly, during their occassional visits to the kingdom, a young Charles directly oversaw the hardship of the Egyptian peasantry which made up a sizable portion of the country's population. He was also reputedly close with the king's daughter Fawzia who was six years his senior. Despite their brief acquaintances, the princess was said to had left a lifelong impression on the much younger Charles whom at one point, privately expressed his personal regrets of not being able to marry Fawzia instead due to irreconcilable religious and social differences.

Second World War

By his father's insistence, Charles and his mother are to strictly remain in Sweden while the former instead chose to serve in the British Army against the Axis Powers. As the young prince gradually learned about the horrors of the global war, he consistently prayed for his father's safety, and so did his mother. At the same time, the two of them diligently worked in providing safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution, primarily those from Germany itself, in addition to Denmark and Norway.

Charles and the rest of his family members would later host a familial reunion when Frederick himself returned home from the conclusion of the war, marked by the defeat of Nazi Germany and later Imperial Japan.

Career

Following in the footsteps of his father, a renowned British diplomat, a young Charles was personally taught in the arts of diplomacy and relations by the former, who had wished for a continuation of his involvement in diplomatic affairs to be passed down through his descendants. Additionally, the tense Cold War atmosphere itself offered the young prince a valuable opportunity in serving in the United Kingdom's field of ambassadors.

To that end, he was subsequently assigned to the Arab kingdom of Jordan, an essential British ally under the reign of its fairly liberal King Hussein, whom in turn had inherited the kingdom following the forced abdication of his predecessor, King Talal. Following his arrival, he was said to had quickly befriended the teenage king, having referred to the latter as a "hopeful paragon of Arab modernity".

Personal Information

Titles & Honours

1 February 1927 - 5 August 1953 His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Clarence and Avondale
5 August 1953 - 23 June 1985 His Royal Highness The Duke of Wolfsburg
23 June 1985 - 11 November 2002 His Royal Highness The Duke of Clarence and Avondale