Prince Charles was just 3 years old when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne making Prince Charles the longest-serving heir apparent in entire British history. Here are some fascinating facts about the Prince of Wales, His Royal Highness Charles.
Prince Charles was officiated as the Prince of Wales at the age of 9
In the royal family, the title of "Prince of Wales" is bestowed to a male heir apparent, but there is a process and it’s not an automatic appointment.Charles became entitled in 1958 when he was 9 years old after his grandfather died in 1952. The longest-servingPrince of Wales, Prince Charles was granted the title Prince of Wales and its conjoining title, Earl of Chester.
Prince Charles’s secret service alias is “Unicorn”
The first chronicled instance of a Scottish monarch using a ‘unicorn’ as a symbol of strength was in the late 1300s when Robert II or III used unicorns in the arms and gateway of Rothesay Castle on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Charles was given this nickname as certain visiting luminaries in the US as code-named. Incidentally, the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
Prince Charles penned a children book
‘The Old Man of Lochnagar’ was written by Prince Charles in 1980 and included stories that he would narrate to his younger brother, Princes Andrew, and Edward. This book also turned into a short-animated movie narrated by Prince Charles. The story is based on how an old man goes to the caves near Balmoral looking for an unobtrusive place to take a hot bath.
He can play the instrument, cello
Prince Charles played cello in the Trinity College Orchestra while graduating. In fact, as a child, he tried learning trumpet, piano, and cello and stuck with the cello.
There is a frog named after Prince Charles
An endangered species of Ecuadorian tree frog was discovered in 2012 and was christened as the Hyloscirtusprince Charles, or Prince Charles stream treefrog. This was done to recognize Prince Charles’s efforts in rainforest conservation and his openness to the dangers of climate change.
President Nixon wished to marry his daughter to Prince Charles
Years later while visiting Washington with Camilla, Prince Charlessmilingly remembered Nixon's attempt at matchmaking. According to Sally Bedell Smith's 2017 biography ‘Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life’, "The president arranged to have Tricia seated next to Charles at every occasion, which annoyed him."
