King Charles III was born at Buckingham Palace, London, on 14 November 1948. He is the eldest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Charles became heir apparent at the age of three, when his mother became Queen.
Given the title Prince of Wales in 1958, Charles was formally invested as Prince of Wales in 1969. He was the longest-serving Prince of Wales in British history.
Following service in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. They had two children: Prince William (born 1982) and Prince Henry (born 1984). The couple divorced in 1996 and Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005.
As Prince of Wales, Charles visited New Zealand 10 times between 1970 and 2019. The Queen (then the Duchess of Cornwall) accompanied him on his visits in 2012, 2015 and 2019.
King Charles III's visits to New Zealand
- 12–30 March 1970: joined his parents and sister (Princess Anne) on a tour which included the opening of Parliament.
- 29 January – 6 February 1974: attended the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch and New Zealand Day celebrations at Waitangi with his parents and sister.
- 4 September 1974: attended the funeral of New Zealand’s prime minister, Norman Kirk.
- 31 March – 12 April 1981: opened the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua and received an honorary degree from the University of Otago.
- 17–30 April 1983: toured New Zealand with his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales and their first son, Prince William.
- 5–10 February 1994: visited Tūrangawaewae Marae and the West Coast.
- 5–10 March 2005: visited Otago, Wellington and Auckland.
- 10–16 November 2012: toured New Zealand with his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. The royal couple visited Auckland, Wellington, Manawatū and Christchurch.
- 4–9 November 2015: the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited Wellington, Nelson, New Plymouth, Dunedin, Westport, Ngāruawāhia and Auckland.
- 17–23 November 2019: on their third joint visit to New Zealand, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited Auckland, Waitangi, Christchurch and Kaikōura.
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