Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Elizabeth II. He has been Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952, and he is the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history.
He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held that title since 1958. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, which his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had attended as a child. Charles also spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia.
Buckingham Palace's 775 rooms explained from indoor pool to post office and secret tunnel
ok.co.ukThe very epicentre of British royal life, it’s the most public of regal residences and the place the monarch calls home in the capital.
As such, Buckingham Palace is every bit as vast as it is impressive.There are 775 rooms, including 78 bathrooms, 92 offices, 52 bedrooms for royals and their guests, and 118 staff bedrooms.The jaw-dropping numbers go on.The rooms are lit with 40,000 lightbulbs (we do hope these are energy-saving – Charles is watching) and there are 1,514 doors and a total of 760 windows that are cleaned every six weeks.
Buckingham Palace is of such stature that it is, essentially, a town in itself. There’s a post office, a chapel, a police station and a doctor’s surgery, The Royal Mews Surgery, headed up by the Queen’s GP Dr Timothy Evans, who is officially known as “apothecary to Her Majesty”.There’s also a jeweller’s workshop and an indoor swimming pool, built by King George VI to help a young Elizabeth and sister Margaret learn their strokes, and where Prince George also mastered his best doggy paddle.There’s even a cashpoint in one of the staff hallways, courtesy of Coutts Bank, where you need a casual £1 million to be allowed to open an account (no sweat for HRH and her clan, of course).
As well as all that there’s a cinema club, where they line up seats in a palace drawing room and show films. Recent showings include the film Judy, and the Downton Abbey box-set.
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