Britain’s Charles III was formally proclaimed king at the Accession Council in London’s St James’s Palace on September 10, just two days after Queen Elizabeth II, his mother and the UK’s longest-serving monarch, had died.
The Queen was 96 and remained 70 years on the throne.
The new King, 73, had been the Prince of Wales — the title reserved for future British kings-in-waiting — for longer than anyone else in the history of the UK’s monarchy.
Charles also became head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries and 2.4 billion people. For 14 of these countries, as well as the UK, the King is head of state.
A 2015 biography said that royal courtiers were concerned Charles would pursue a radical style of monarchy and that his passion for certain causes, particularly environmental, had caused disquiet at Buckingham Palace, and with the late Queen herself.
Under Britain's unwritten constitution, the royal family is supposed to remain above politics.
But in June, he called the UK government´s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda “appalling.”
His role
Despite being the King, his powers are symbolic and ceremonial, and he remains politically neutral.
He will receive daily dispatches from the government in a red leather box, such as briefings ahead of important meetings, or documents needing his signature.
He also has a number of parliamentary functions: appointing a government and dissolving a government before a general election, starting the parliamentary year with the State Opening ceremony and approving legislation.
Moreover, the King will host visiting heads of state, and meet foreign ambassadors and high commissioners based in the UK. He will normally lead the annual Remembrance event in November at the Cenotaph in London.
Britain's King Charles meets well-wishers as he returns to Clarence House from Buckingham Palace, following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain on September 10, 2022 ReutersRise in popularity?
The new monarch has seen a boost in popularity, according to a new poll published by YouGov.
A total of 63% think Charles will make a good King compared with just 39% in March - only a fifth think he will do a bad job.
However, some of the previous polls showed the “dwindling” popularity of Charles.
In May, less than a third of participants in a study had backed him to take up the position of the monarch.
But his son, Prince William, was the more popular public choice as the face of the future Royal Family at that time.
The findings of a BBC poll in 2009 said that 58% of people believed there should be a new Prince of Wales after Charles took the throne.
What’s in a name?
Although it has been known for decades that Charles would succeed his mother, there were rumours that he might, once king, choose the name George due to the contentious legacies of Kings Charles I and Charles II.
Charles Philip Arthur George could have chosen another royal name when he took the throne. While the Queen used her first given name, her father, King George VI, was named Albert Frederick Arthur George and called Bertie by friends and family.
But Britain’s new monarch is finally named King Charles III.
In this file photo taken on August 15, 2020, Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, reacts during a national service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, central England AFPEarly life
He was born on November 14, 1948, and is the first-born son of Elizabeth and Philip.
Described by biographers as “a sensitive man”, it is said that he is a keen gardener and enjoys tending to the organic garden in his countryside manor.
He studied in Britain and Australia, reading archaeology, anthropology and history at Trinity College, Cambridge in the late 1960s before becoming a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot.
He was made the Prince of Wales in 1969.
Conducting royal service since the late 1970s, he was 30 years old when he married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, who became the Princess of Wales.
Two sons – Prince William, who was born on June 21 1982, and Prince Harry, born on September 15, 1984 – followed before the couple divorced in 1992.
Speculation about Prince Charles’s relationship with former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles continued after the divorce -- but it was not until 2005 that the couple finally took the step and tied the knot.
The prince has had to weather many scandals during the years, including after the death of Princess Diana in a car accident in Paris in 1997, as well as defending controversial comments and gaffes he has been criticised for.
Analysts say that as the king-in-waiting, the royals in recent years have been working to cultivate a particular image of him.
‘Won't speak out as the king’
The former Prince of Wales in a 2018 BBC documentary said he will stop speaking out on topics he feels strongly about when he becomes king, as he is "not that stupid".
He campaigned on issues such as the environment for decades but said he would not do the same as monarch.
The then Prince said the idea that he would continue making interventions was "nonsense".
He said he would have to operate within "constitutional parameters", adding that the roles of Prince of Wales and king were completely separate.
Asked whether his public campaigning would continue, he said: "No, it won't. I'm not that stupid."
In this file photo taken on November 11, 2018 Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony on Whitehall in central London AFPCampaign on architecture
In 1984, he gave a speech criticizing a modernist design for an extension to the National Gallery in London.
He said it looked like a "vast municipal fire station" and, if it were to be built - the proposal was subsequently dropped - would be a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend".
Indeed, Charles campaigned for traditional urban design and architecture for many years.
And this led to heir to the throne establishing the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture in 1986, now known as The Prince's Foundation.
Fighting climate change
He had spoken passionately about climate change and environmental sustainability.
In 2017, he said humans must live in harmony with their environment.
Wildlife conservation
As a prince, Charles had been a staunch supporter of wildlife conservation and anti-poaching campaigns.
In 2018, he said: "With the current rate of biodiversity loss now running at 1,000 times the natural rate, we appear to have managed to initiate the planet's sixth great extinction event and still seem utterly hell bent on destroying what little we have left."
File photo: Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, depart from the Sovereign's Entrance after attending the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords Chamber in the Houses of Parliament in London on May 10, 2022 ReutersHomeopathy
He had sparked some criticism for his support of homeopathy - a treatment based on the use of highly diluted substances to allegedly aid the body to heal itself.
In 2015, he told an international gathering of scientists and government officials he treated his own cows and sheep with homeopathy.
Latest controversies
Reports that up to 100 staff at King Charles III’s former residence could lose their jobs have drawn criticism of the British monarchy, within days of his accession to the throne.
Meanwhile, two videos showing him visibly irritated by a leaky pen and a pen holder went viral on social media in recent days.
British police have faced criticism from activists and civil liberties groups over their treatment of people who have publicly challenged Charles’ accession to the throne, raising free speech concerns.
