:''Prince Charles redirects here. For other people known as Prince Charles, see Prince Charles (disambiguation).''
'''The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales''' (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor; born Windsor, 14 November 1948), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is heir-apparent to the thrones of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth Realms. He has held the title of Prince of Wales since 1958, and is styled ''HRH The Prince of Wales'', except in Scotland, where he is styled ''HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay''. Constitutionally, he is the first in line to the throne, but third in order of precedence, following both The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
The Prince of Wales is well-known for his extensive charity work, particularly for the Prince's Trust. He also carries out a full schedule of royal duties and, increasingly, is taking on more royal roles from his ageing parents. The Prince is also well known for his high-profile marriages to the late Lady Diana Spencer and, subsequently, to Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall.
Birth
'''The Prince of Wales''' was born on 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace. His father is The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, eldest son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. At the time of his birth, his mother was The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, the elder daughter of King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and his father was The Duke of Edinburgh (having not yet been created a Prince of the United Kingdom). His mother was Heiress Presumptive to the British throne at the time of the Prince's birth. The Prince was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 15 December 1948 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher and his godparents were: King George VI, Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven, Hon. David Bowes-Lyon, Lady Brabourne, King Haakon VII of Norway (for whom the Earl of Athlone stood proxy) and Prince George of Greece (for whom Prince Philip stood proxy).
Under letters patent issued by the Prince's great grandfather, King George V, the title of a British prince and the style ''His Royal Highness'' was only available to the children and grandchildren in the male-line of the sovereign and the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. As Charles was a female-line grandchild of the sovereign, he would have taken his title from his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, and would have been styled by courtesy as Earl of Merioneth. However the title of Prince and Princess, with the style HRH was granted to all the children of Princess Elizabeth
