HRH Prince of Wales

Heir apparent, Commonwealth realm

Charles Philip Arthur George is the Prince of Wales and, since 1952, has been heir apparent to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. He was educated at Trinity College, cambridge, where he studied anthropology, archaeology, and history, and graduated in 1970. He was invested as the Prince of Wales in a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in 1969 and in 1970, he took his seat in the House of Lords. Whilst at Cambridge, the prince had trained in the RAF and, after graduating, he studied at the Royal Naval College Dartmouth before serving in the Royal Navy on the destroyer HMS Norfolk and the frigates Miverva and Jupiter. He was appointed to the command of the minehunter Bronington for a short period before he left the Navy.

Since leaving the navy, the prince has become well-known for his environmental and charity work, putting his name to the Prince's Regeneration Trust, and acting as patron to over 350 other charities and organisations. He is also President of the Prince's Trust, a group of twenty non-profit organisations. He has been a vocal critic of modern architecture, and also sponsors the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. The prince, along with architect Leon Krier, was one of the minds behind the new town Poundbury, in Dorset. In 1990, he launched his own range of organic foods, Duchy Originals. He is the author of A Vision of Britain (1989).