How old is King Charles III? Age monarch was diagnosed with cancer, profile and controversies explained

King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace has said.

The disease was discovered during an operation for an enlarged prostate, it said. The Palace has not confirmed what type of cancer the King has. Buckingham Palace said the King personally called both Harry and the Prince of Wales – as well as his siblings the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Duke of Edinburgh – to share news of his health. The Palace said: "During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.

“His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties. Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual."

How old is King Charles?

King Charles III is 75. He was born at 9.14pm, 14 November, 1948, at Buckingham Palace. He is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. His birth name was Charles Philip Arthur George.

Charles was already three years old when Elizabeth became Queen - the same time he became heir apparent to the throne. He was four years old at his mother's coronation.

According to Cancer Research UK, a third of all cancer cases are in people aged 75 and over. The charity said: "The older we are, the more likely we are to develop cancer. Many people are surprised by this, which could be because there are often stories in the media about younger people with cancer.

Anyone can get cancer, but cancer at a young age is rare. Most cases of cancer are in people aged 50 and over."

King Charles' early life

Charles waited almost his entire life preparing to become King, as Queen Elizabeth's oldest child and heir. He was just three when his mother became King, and 74 when she died on 8 September 2022.

He was just nine when he became the Prince of Wales. Having finished school with six O-Levels and A-Levels in history and French, Charles attended Cambridge University in 1967 to study archaeology and anthropology at Trinity College.

For the second-half of his degree, Charles switched to history and was awarded a 2:2 degree in 1970. The year before, he was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle. Charles began to train as a jet pilot in 1971 at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire. Following this, he embarked on a naval career.

King Charles' marriages

After less than a year of dating and around 13 in-person meetings, Charles announced his engagement to Diana Spencer in February 1981.

Diana's father was an equerry to Queen Elizabeth and her father while her grandmother was Lady-in-Waiting to The Queen Mother. The couple tied the knot at St Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981.

Charles and Diana had two children together - Prince William - born on 21 June 1982 and Prince Harry - born on 15 September 1984.

It was announced by Prime Minister John Major that after 11 years of marriage, the couple were to separate in December 1992. Diana famously said in an interview that “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded", referring to Charles' second wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, who is now the Queen.

Extra marital affairs have been acknowledged on both sides of the relationship and they separated soon after the public became aware of their strained relationship. Their divorce was finalised in 1996.

Even before the marriage Charles was seen to burst the fairytale bubble when the couple was asked whether they were in love in their engagement interview. A young Diana, who was 12 years his junior, replied “of course”, while Charles responded with “whatever love means”.

Princess Diana died in a car crash in 1997, prompting widespread public mourning. The images of 15 and 12-year-old William and Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin are still remembered by many.

On April 9, 2005, Charles married Camilla - now Queen Camilla - in a ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor.

When did Charles become King?

As heir apparent, Charles officially become King upon the passing of his mother last September. However his coronation - where Charles was presented with the Crown Jewels and took his oath as King - took place on 6 May 2023.

Has Charles had other health scares?

The King's previous health issues have included contracting coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic and being knocked unconscious after being thrown from his horse while playing polo. He also narrowly escaped an avalanche which killed a close friend.

Concern has been expressed over the years at his “sausage fingers” amid fears they might be due to fluid build-up or other conditions. But Charles had been aware of his puffy fingers for decades. “He really does look surprisingly appetising and has sausage fingers just like mine,” he wrote to a friend after the birth of his first son, William, in 1982.

In March 2020, Charles, then 71, caught Covid-19 before vaccinations were available, but only had mild symptoms. He isolated at Birkhall, Aberdeenshire, away from the then-Duchess of Cornwall, who tested negative, and carried on working at his desk.

He lost his sense of taste and smell for a time, and later spoke of the “strange, frustrating and often distressing” experience of being without friends and relatives during lockdown. He caught Covid for a second time in February 2022, but was triple-vaccinated.

Charles has kept active with hill-walking and gardening, but did suffer from back pain, attributed to numerous falls from horses over the years while playing polo. He retired after more than 40 years of playing polo in 2005, having notched up an impressive array of injuries.

In 1980 he was thrown and kicked by his pony during a polo match at Windsor and needed six stitches. A two-inch crescent scar on his left cheek bore witness to the incident. On another occasion he was hit in the throat, causing him to lose his voice for 10 days.

Charles resisted pressure to give up polo after he collapsed in 1980 at the end of a game in Florida and had to be put on a saline drip.

In 2008 he had a non-cancerous growth removed from the bridge of his nose in a minor, routine procedure and in 2003 had a hernia operation at the private King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, the hospital favoured by the royal family. He joked “hernia today, gone tomorrow” to waiting media after being discharged the next day.

Charles never travelled on royal tours without a special cushion, usually a tartan one, which he used to ease back pain. A red velvet one is always placed on the King’s chair during state banquets at Buckingham Palace.

In 1988, skiing off piste at Klosters on one of Europe’s most dangerous runs, he narrowly escaped the avalanche which killed his good friend Major Hugh Lindsay, a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles managed to jump out of the way to reach a ledge and helped save the life of another friend, Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, by digging her out of the snow and talking to her to keep her conscious until a helicopter arrived. He later recalled the horror of the avalanche, saying he had never seen anything so terrifying.

King Charles' controversies

The biggest controversy surrounding Charles was his affair with Camilla, who is now the Queen. But the King has also been involved in a few other scandals in his time in the spotlight, from the ‘Black Spider’ memos - which consisted of 27 letters he sent to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other government officials lobbying for the policy changes he hoped for - to the ‘cash for honours’ scandal in 2021.

Michael Fawcett, chairman of Charles’ charity the Prince Foundation, was accused of bribing a Saudi billionaire with knighthood and UK citizenship if he donated to the foundation. The investigation is still ongoing.

More recently, the Sunday Times reported that Prince Charles accepted £1 million from the family of 9/11 ringleader Osama Bin Laden.