It’s Prince Charles’ 70th Birthday. Here Are 70 Surprising Facts About the Heir to the British Throne

The Prince of Wales turns 70 today – here are 70 facts about the heir to the throne.

1. Charles was born on November 14. 1948, in Buckingham Palace.
2. He is the eldest son of The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
3. He was christened on December 15 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher.
4. He became heir apparent upon the death of his grandfather George VI; Elizabeth succeeded to the throne on February 6, 1952.
5. He is now the longest serving British monarch-in-waiting.
6. He has three siblings – Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward.
7. And they’re all related to Vlad the Impaler.
8. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that Charles should go to school rather than have a tutor, so The Prince joined Hill House school in West London, in November 1956.
9. 10 months later, the young Prince became a boarder at Cheam School, a prep school in Berkshire.
10. The Prince was 14 when he reportedly ordered his first alcoholic drink, a cherry brandy, on a school trip.
11. In April 1962 he began his first term at Gordonstoun, a school in Scotland.
12. The Prince of Wales spent two terms in 1966 as an exchange student in Australia.
13. Upon his return to Gordonstoun he was made head boy.
14. In 1967, he passed his A levels, gaining a grade B in history and a C in French, along with a distinction in an optional special history paper.
15. There’s speculation that Charles had a celebrity crush on Barbra Streisand during his youth.
16. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge.
17. During his second year, the Prince received flying instruction from the RAF.
18. He studied archaeology and anthropology for his first year before switching to history
19. While at university, he joined the Cambridge footlights, a well-known comedy group with dozens of famous alumni.
20. He graduated university in 1970.
21. He is is the first royal heir to earn a university degree.
22. Charles went on to briefly study Welsh at Aberystwyth University.
23. The Queen and Philip gave their son an Aston Martin sports car for his 21st birthday present.
24. He was invested as Prince of Wales by The Queen on 1st July 1969 in a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle, Wales.
25. Before taking his seat in the House of Lords the next year.
26. The motto of The Prince of Wales ‘Ich dien’, meaning ‘I serve’.
27. His full title is: His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
28. In 1971, he embarked on a career in the navy, after which he served on the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk and two frigates.
29. The Prince qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1974 before joining 845 Naval Air Squadron.
30. In 1975, Charles became a member of the Magic Circle, a society for magicians, after passing his audition with a “cup and balls” trick.
31. He founded The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation in 1979.
32. And is currently patron or president of around 400 organizations.
33. In 1980 Prince Charles penned a children’s book titled The Old Man Of Lochnagar.
34. He has also written books on the natural world and the environment including Harmony and Climate Change.
35. Charles once revealed to actress Julie Walters that he is a fan of the Harry Potter films.
36. In 1981, he married Diana Spencer in St Pauls Cathedral.
37. 750 million people around the world watched the event on TV.
38. He and Diana had dated for only six months before he proposed.
39. At 5’10” tall, he and Princess Diana were the exact same height.
40. But there was an age gap of 12 years between them.
41. The Prince and Princess had two sons: Prince William, born June 21 1982; and Prince Harry, born September 15 1984.
42. Prince Charles broke with royal tradition by encouraging Princess Diana to give birth to her sons in a hospital, rather than Buckingham Palace, and by attending the births.
43. Some 170 regular suppliers of goods and services hold royal warrants of appointment to The Prince of Wales.
44. In 1989, Prince Charles and John Cleese co-wrote an environmental comedy, Grimes Goes Green.
45. He launched his own food company, Duchy Originals, in 1990 (named after the Duchy of Cornwall). Its first product was a biscuit made from wheat and oats grown organically on the Home Farm at Highgrove.
46. He also has his own brand of whisky, called Barrogill.
47. Charles and Diana were married for 11 years before they separated in 1992
48. Their separation was announced in the house of commons by Prime Minister John Major.
49. The marriage was dissolved on August 28. 1996
50. When Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, The Prince flew to Paris with her two sisters to bring her body back to London.
51. Charles married his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, on April 9. 2005, in a civil ceremony in Windsor.
52. The pair had met at a polo match in 1970.
53. According to an unauthorized book, Charles once “shrieked” and “trembled” at the sight of an unknown plastic substance covering his dinner, only to be told “It’s cling film, darling,” by Camilla. The anecdote, which the family never addressed, made headlines.
54. He earns his income from the hereditary estate of the Duchy of Cornwall, which has been given to successive Princes of Wales since 1337.
55. He currently owns more than 50,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of land, according to reports.
56. Charles is estimated to be worth around $400m.
57. Several of his vehicles have been converted to run on wine.
58. He is said to adore red squirrels.
59. Since 1969, The Prince has visited 44 Commonwealth countries, many of them on several occasions.
60. The Prince made a cameo appearance on British television show Coronation Street in 2000.
61. Prince Charles was crowned the best-dressed man in the world by Esquire magazine in 2009. He beat Boris Johnson, Bill Nighy and even Barack Obama to the top spot.
62. Throughout the country, Prince Charles is known by different titles. For example, in Cornwall he is known as HRH The Duke of Cornwall and in Chester, as HRH The Earl of Chester.
63. He is a godfather to 32 people, including Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece.
64. The Prince was given the title, “Keeper of the Cows“, by the Masai in Tanzania in 2011
65. He has a frog named after him: Hyloscirtus Princecherlesi or Prince Charles Magnificent Tree Frog.
66. Prince Charles and Prince William never travel on the same airplane so they don’t both die in a crash.
67. The Prince does not eat lunch.
68. But he does enjoy Darjeeling tea, served with milk and honey.
69. As the Prince is an old age pensioner, he has his own bus pass and receives a state pension.
70. Prince Charles loves “groussaka” – his version of the Greek dish moussaka, but with grouse instead of lamb.