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The heir to the throne was born on Nov. 14, 1948 in Buckingham Palace. Charles remained second in line to the throne until the age of three, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, became queen. That means he has been heir apparent for 64 years!
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1950
The little prince is an only child no more! Princess Anne was born in August 1950, giving the Queen a spare to Charles' heir. Charles also has two younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who were born in February 1960 and March 1964, respectively.
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1955
Charles begins attending school rather than learning from a private tutor. He is the first heir apparent to ever be educated in this manner.
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1967
In the late 1960s, Charles went straight from secondary school into university as opposed to joining the British Armed Forces, which was custom for royals. He later went on to become the first heir apparent to earn a university degree.
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1971
During his time at university, Charles began his military training, including training to become a pilot with the Royal Air Force. After earning his degree, he went on to serve in the Air Force as well as the Royal Navy.
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1979
In the late '70s, Charles was spotted multiple times with ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles, who was married to another man at the time. Camilla would later be blamed by the press for the demise of Charles' first marriage to Princess Diana.
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1981
On July 29, 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral. Their wedding was quickly dubbed a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century" and was watched by an estimated 750 million people on television.
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1982
On June 21, 1982, the couple welcomed their first son, Prince William. Two years later they welcomed a second son, Prince Harry, on Sept. 15, 1984.
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1991
By the late '80s and early '90s, Charles and Diana's marriage was crumbling. The prince was plagued by cheating rumors involving his ex-girlfriend Camilla and after separating in 1992, the pair officially divorced on Aug. 28, 1996.
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1997
Tragedy struck on Aug. 31, 1997 when Charles' ex-wife Diana was killed in a car crash at age 36. In the days following, Charles, William and Harry visited makeshift memorials throughout London where mourners left flowers for the late princess.
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2005
Prince Charles attended son William's graduation from St. Andrews on June 23, 2005. Despite embarking on a military career after graduation, Charles still walked William through his royal duties to prepare him for his future role as king.
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2005
On April 9, 2005, Charles married long-time love Camilla, who then became the Duchess of Cornwall. Many people wondered whether the Queen would attend the ceremony — since Camilla was a divorced woman — but Queen Elizabeth ended up attending with her husband, Prince Philip.
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2011
Prince Charles — along with Michael Middleton and Carole Middleton, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth and Camilla — attended the wedding of his eldest son, William, to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. On July 22, 2013, the prince became a first-time grandfather when Kate gave birth to son Prince George. Kate and William welcomed Baby No. 2, daughter Princess Charlotte, in May 2015.
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2013
Charles spent his 65th birthday in Sri Lanka where he was presented with a cake topped with three elephants by the country's president. The prince and Camilla visited the country to attend the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
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2015
During Charles' and Camilla's recent 12-day tour of New Zealand and Australia, Charles was greeted with a hongi — the traditional greeting gesture in New Zealand — during a Tea With Taranaki event at Brooklands Park.