Charles the Great
| Charles III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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King of the British and of the People of his other Realms
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| Reign | 7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coronation | 20 September 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Frederick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Thomas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| King of the Dutch Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inauguration | 1 January 1952 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Frederick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Thomas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Prince Charles of Cambridge, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Prussia 15 January 1917 Haga Palace, Stockholm, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 March 2011 (aged 94) Buckingham Palace, London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burial | 5 March 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Lauren Bacall (m. 1946) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| House | Amsterdam-Windsor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Frederick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Victoria Louise of Prussia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Protestant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Branch/service |  United States Air Force | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1942-1951 (active service) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Brigadier General | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | 6th Air Intelligence Squadron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | Pacific War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charles III (English: Charles Frederick William Louis; German: Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig; Dutch: Karel Frederik Willem Lodewijk; 15 January 1917 - 2 March 2011), better known as Charles the Great, was King of the British as Charles III, and King of the Dutch and Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers as Charles I from 7 July 1951 to 15 January 1997. Known for his controversial marriage to the Jewish American actress, Lauren Bacall, Charles was also known for his somewhat outspoken support for decolonisation, political and social liberalism, and for his own personal opposition against what he termed as "both the First and Second worlds' imperialism", marked by his lifelong advocacy for the United Kingdom to be more politically aligned with its former colonies, a majority of which are considered to be Third World countries. However, following the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, Charles was said to have otherwise adopted a more pan-European outlook, as evidenced by the instances of his often subtle support for the European Union, a political and economic union which to date, consists of approximately 27 nations, including the United Kingdom itself, as well as the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
His reign, which spanned throughout most of the second half of the 20th century saw a series of wide-ranging and dramatic reforms that effectively transformed Britain's as well as that of the Netherlands and Luxembourg's political and social climate, all of which were either personally directed or orchestrated by Charles and his wife, with his most major success being the implementation of absolute primogeniture succession system within the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and within Luxembourg. Prior to ascending to the throne, during the 1940s, Charles established a modestly successful career as an actor in Hollywood, earning a total of three Best Actor awards, before later enlisting in the United States Army Air Force for the Pacific War, for which he was awarded several military honours, along with being the first and only British, Dutch, and Luxembourgish royal to date to ever receive a high-ranking officer rank in the United States Armed Forces, namely the rank of Brigadier General. A prolific tennis player during his princely years, Charles competed several times in the Wimbledon championships, mostly alongside his adoptive sister Princess Ingrid of Sweden (later Queen Ingrid of Denmark), with whom he won the championships several times in the years 1934, 1936, 1946, and lastly, in 1947.
On 15 January 1997, following celebrations marking his 80th birthday, Charles formally abdicated the throne in favour of his son Thomas on the grounds of "ill health" and "personal issues", thereby becoming the second British monarch to do so after Queen Victoria in 1837. Afterwards, following his death in March 2011, he was posthumously given the epithet the Great in recognition of his personal contributions to the country.
At the time of his death, aged 94 years old, Charles is the longest-lived British, Dutch, and Luxembourgish monarch whereas his wife is also the longest-lived British royal consort at 89 years old. Meanwhile, as one of the majority shareholders of Atlantic Connection, Charles is estimated to be worth around $19.7 billion, making him one of the richest monarchs in the world.
Early Life
Charles was born on 15 January 1917 to Edward, Prince of Wales and Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, the daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire. A member of the ruling House of Hanover, he was also closely related to the House of Hohenzollern as well due to his mother's standing as the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, along with his own paternal grandmother, Queen Sophia being the Kaiser's sister herself. However, with the German Empire itself effectively dissolved in the following year, and as a consequence of the passing of the Royal Titles Revocation Act 1924 in the years following the end of the First World War, Charles's exclusive Prussian title of Prince of Prussia, which was prior bestowed upon him by Wilhelm II himself, was ultimately revoked by his own father as to placate British nationalists in the country who had been critical of the royal family's heavily Germanised background.
Following his birth on January 15th, it was said that prior to being given his actual name, there were other serious alternatives considered as well at the time, with the names George and Edward being the most popular alternatives. Ultimately, for reasons that were ultimately kept secret at the time, the young prince and second in line to the throne would then be given the name Charles instead. However, this decision was almost immediately met with opposition from several members of the royal family who were reportedly against having a "Charles the Third" on the throne, as some of them believed that much like the reigns of the two previous kings named Charles, the reign of a third monarch named Charles would be of "inevitable disaster" due to the negativity surrounding the name's previous holders, though this concern was promptly dismissed by Charles's father, the then Prince of Wales, whom instead fully supported the choice of the given name for his eldest child and eventual successor. At the same time, his middle name and surname turned out to be that of his mother's Prussian ancestors instead, namely the German Emperors Frederick III and Wilhelm I. In rationalising these decisions, Victoria Louise herself later wrote in her memoir that her decision to name Charles partly after his Prussian ancestors was due to her own personal desire to ensure that the young Charles would be born "a prince of both the British and the Germans".
On 5 January 1913, around four years prior to his birth, Charles's parents who were then recently married were forced to return to Sweden, thereby prolonging their initial exile to the country due to the rising political and social tensions in Europe. Thus, unlike his predecessors, Charles was born instead in the Swedish royal residence of Haga Palace in Stockholm, where his parents had been residing with the permission of the Swedish royal family. The events surrounding his birth, when relayed to the British wartime government of Prime Minister David Lloyd George, initially aroused some controversies as the prince's birth had taken place within a foreign territory, prompting speculations regarding Charles's potential inability to succeed to the throne as the heir apparent to his father, then the Prince of Wales. Ultimately, Charles's eligibility to succeed to the throne remained unaffected due to Sweden's application of the jus sanguinis principle which did not automatically confirm Charles as a Swedish citizen although he was instead given a British citizenship, thereby allowing him to naturally succeed to the throne in the near future.
For the first couple of years in Sweden, Charles and his family lived mostly under the protection of King Gustaf V and members of the Swedish royal family. In particular, his godparents, King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria of Sweden doted greatly on the infant Charles. At the same time, as a relatively young infant, Charles was occasionally looked after by the King's own granddaughter Princess Ingrid, daughter of the eventual King Gustaf VI Adolf and Princess Margaret of Connaught.
Personal Information
Titles & Honours
- 15 January 1917 - 5 January 1923 His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Cambridge, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Prussia
- 5 January 1923 - 20 January 1923 His Royal Highness The Prince of Orange, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Cornwall
- 20 January 1923 - 7 July 1951 His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Prince of Orange, and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 7 July 1951 - 2 March 2011 His Majesty The King of the British, King of the Dutch, and the Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers
Honours
National & Commonwealth
Foreign
Military Appointments
United Kingdom
13 February 1935 - 30 January 1936: Officer Cadet, British Army
30 January 1936 - 11 November 1936: Second Lieutenant, British Army
11 November 1936 - 5 March 1937: Lieutenant, British Army
5 March 1937 - 11 December 1937 : Major, British Army
11 December 1937 - 22 January 1940: Colonel, British Army
22 January 1940 - 17 May 1944: Brigadier, British Army
17 May 1944 - 16 March 1947: Lieutenant General, British Army
16 March 1947 - 7 July 1951: Field Marshal, British Army
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces
15 January 1997 - 3 March 2011: Field Marshal, British Army
5 March 1936 - 11 December 1936: Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy
11 December 1936 - 2 January 1938: Captain, Royal Navy
2 January 1938 - 17 May 1944: Commodore, Royal Navy
17 May 1944 - 16 March 1947: Vice-admiral, Royal Navy
16 March 1947 - 7 July 1951: Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Lord High Admiral, Royal Navy
15 January 1997 - 3 March 2011: Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy
20 November 1936 - 3 March 1937: Flying lieutenant, Royal Air Force
3 March 1937 - 30 October 1937: Squadron leader, Royal Air Force
30 October 1937 - 5 April 1938: Wing commander, Royal Air Force
5 April 1938 - 17 May 1944: Group captain, Royal Air Force
17 May 1944 - 16 March 1947: Air Marshal, Royal Air Force
16 March 1947 - 7 July 1951: Air Chief Marshal, Royal Air Force
7 July 1951 - 3 March 2011: Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Canada
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Army
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Australia
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Army
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Navy
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force
New Zealand
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the New Zealand Army
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Navy
7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997: Commander-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Air Force
United States
22 March 1941 - 4 March 1942: Officer Cadet, United States Army Air Force
4 March 1942 - 11 December 1942: Second Lieutenant, United States Army Air Force
11 December 1942 - 4 March 1943: Captain, United States Army Air Force
4 March 1943 - 15 March 1946: Colonel, United States Army Air Force
15 March 1946 - 7 July 1951:
Brigadier General, United States Air Force
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Charles the Great |
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