- King Charles was officially crowned the King of the U.K. on May 6, 2023
- He has two children, Prince William and Prince Harry
- He has five grandchildren: two from Harry, and three from William
When Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96, her son, King Charles III, who was then a prince, assumed the British throne. Although he immediately became King upon her death, his official coronation did not take place until May 6, 2023. After King Charles, who can be seen in a new Instagram photo here, concludes his royal duties as King, he’ll be succeeded by his son, Prince William. Someday, Charles’ eldest grandson, Prince George, will also eventually take the throne.
Prince George made history at his grandfather’s coronation when he became the youngest future monarch to participate in a crowning. He served as a Page of Honour for Charles along with three other boys. His duty? Helping carry Charles’ robes as he entered and exited Westminster Abby, and he took it quite seriously! Of course, his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, were present at the ceremony and were even photographed sweetly holding hands.
The King has been with his wife Camilla Parker Bowles since 1995, and while they have no children together, King Charles had two sons, which also includes his younger son Prince Harry, in his first marriage to the late Princess Diana. William and Harry have given King Charles five grandkids. Find out more about all of his grandkids here!
Prince George of Cambridge
King Charles and his first wife Princess Diana had their son Prince William in June 1982. After the tragic death of Diana, William kindled a romance with his college sweetheart Kate Middleton,and the pair got married in 2011. Two years later, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to their son, Prince George. George is currently second in the line of succession behind his dad, and he’ll one day be king!
King Charles is clearly fond of his eldest grandson. He showed off a garden that he named after George in an Oct. 2021 interview with the BBC, where he spoke about how important of an issue climate change is to him. “All these young feel nothing is ever happening, so of course, they’re going to get frustrated. I totally understand,” he said. He also spoke about his grandson in the COP26: In Your Hands documentary. “I am old enough to have a grandson,” he said in the special, via PEOPLE. “Like you, he is learning how climate change is causing the big storms and floods, droughts, fires and food shortages we are seeing around the world.”
Ahead of the coronation, a never-before-seen image of Prince George and King Charles was released in the BBC documentary called Charles R: The Making of a Monarch. The photo, which is thought to be from 2016, showed Charles pointing at something in the distance while George looked on. They were seated at a table together at an outdoor function.
Before George debuted as a Page of Honour, an insider revealed that his parents were very proud of him. “His parents are very excited and delighted that he is a page,” a representative for Kate Middleton and Prince William told PEOPLE in April 2023. “It’s something that his parents have thought long and hard about and are very much looking forward to — and I ‘m sure George is too.”
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her daughter Princess Charlotte in May 2015, making King Charles a grandfather for the second time. Princess Charlotte is third in the line of succession behind her big brother, but that will change if George has kids of his own by the time he takes the thrown. Charlotte was named after both her dad’s parents (plus her great-grandmother), with her full-name being Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Her first name is the feminine form of her grandfather’s name, and then her middle names are clearly references to the Queen and William’s late mother, per BBC.
King Charles is clearly a doting grandfather to Princess Charlotte, and besides their namesakes being similar, the royals even have very similar interests. King Charles opened up about how he and Charlotte are both incredibly passionate about their love of ballet in a 2018 interview with BBC Radio 3, per MyLondon.
Prince Louis of Cambridge
Prince Louis, the youngest of Kate Middleton and Prince William, arrived in April 2018. Prince Louis is fourth in the line of succession, but his position will change if his older siblings have kids of their own. As a grandfather, it seems like King Charles absolutely adores all of his grandkids. When Louis celebrated his second birthday in April 2020, Clarence House shared a sweet photo that Kate took of her father-in-law giving Louis a big hug on Instagram. “A very Happy Birthday to Prince Louis, who turns two today,” the caption with the photo said. “The young Prince enjoys a hug from his Grandfather, The Prince of Wales.”
When he was four, he warmed the hearts of fans when he was seen making a silly face during Quen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebration.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
King Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, married his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, in 2018, and the pair welcomed their son Archie in May 2019. Master Archie made history by becoming the first biracial British child in the royal family and is sixth in the line of succession, behind his cousins and dad. A royal source revealed that Archie sweetly calls his grandfather “Pa,” according to The Scottish Sun. Harry also occasionally refers to his dad as “Pa,” as shown in a birthday Instagram post in Nov. 2019. When Archie turned two, Charles sent his grandson a public birthday message, along with a photo of him standing alongside his son, holding Archie. “Happy birthday to Archie, who turns two today,” he simply wrote.
In his and Meghan’s Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, Harry revealed that Archie takes after his mother. “I think at the moment I see a lot of my wife in Archie and a lot of my mum in Lilibet,” he gushed. “She’s very Spencer-like.
Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor
King Charles’ youngest grandchild, Lilibet, was born to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in June 2021. When the youngest was born, Clarence House sent her mom and dad a sweet message celebrating her birth. “Congratulations to Harry, Meghan and Archie on the arrival of baby Lilibet Diana,” the prince’s office wrote in a social media post along side a photo of Harry, Meghan and Archie. “Wishing them all well at this time.”
Lilibet was lucky enough to meet Queen Elizabeth and then-Prince Charles when she celebrated her first birthday in June 2022 in London, where she and her family traveled for the late queen’s milestone Platinum Jubilee celebration.
A year prior, Harry made a surprise appearance at the WellChild Awards and revealed that his secondborn was a manageable newborn. “We’ve been lucky so far, she’s very chilled and seems happy to just sit there while Archie is running around like crazy,” he said, per Hello!