The new Monarch of the UK: King Charles III, previously known as Prince Charles, is the new monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth nations.

Key Facts:

• He has become head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries and 2.4 billion people.
• For 14 of these countries, as well as the UK, the King is head of state.
• These countries, known as the Commonwealth realms, are: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

Key Points:

• He was officially proclaimed sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in a constitutional ceremony that dates back hundreds of years.
• After a fanfare of trumpeters, a public proclamation was made declaring Charles as the new King.
• This was made from a balcony above Friary Court in St James's Palace, by an official known as the Garter King of Arms.
• The Garter King of Arms called "God save the King", and for the first time since 1952, the national anthem was be played with the words "God Save the King".
• This happened at St James's Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.
• Nearly 700 members of the current Accession Council, the oldest functioning part of Britain's government, were called to convene at St James's Palace in London, the official residence of the U.K.'s kings and queens for centuries.
• The council is comprised of Privy Counsellors, a select group of senior politicians, including new Prime Minister Liz Truss, religious figures from the Church of England, the Lord Mayor of London and a bevy of other top civil servants from across British society and the 14 other "realms," or nations, for which the monarch serves as the official head of state.
• He ascended to the throne immediately after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II's, demise on September 8.
• It was the council's role to formally acknowledge the passing of one monarch and to then proclaim the new one on behalf of the British government.
• It is part of Britain's constitutional process.
• He is the oldest person to become a new monarch.
• He has been preparing for the Crown since he was four years old when his mother ascended the Crown in 1953.

Change of Title:

• He will be known as King Charles King Charles III according to the first decision of the new king's reign.
• He is not the only one who faces a change of title.
• Prince William and his wife Catherine are now titled Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and the king has conferred on them the title of Prince and Princess of Wales.
• There is also a new title for Charles' wife, Camilla, who becomes the Queen Consort (consort is the term used for the spouse of the monarch).

Powers of The British Monarch:

The British monarch is a ceremonial figurehead who generally is expected not to intervene in political matters.

However, as head of state, they have retained some constitutional powers.

Role in parliament:

• Parliament is the UK's highest legislative authority and comprises the House of Commons, House of Lords, and Crown, another name for monarchy.
• The Crown is the oldest part of Britain's government system.
• However, its powers have withered away over time and are now broadly ritualistic.

Opening, dissolving parliament:

• The monarch opens parliament yearly at the tradition-heavy State Opening and reads the government's plans for the upcoming year.
• This event usually begins with the monarch's procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster.
• Before a general election, the Crown also formally dissolves the parliament.

Appointing government:

• The day after general elections are concluded, the monarch invites the leader of the party, who secured most seats, to become prime minister and form a government.

Prime ministerial confidant:

• Queen Elizabeth II held weekly meetings with all of her prime ministers, where she would find out their plans and concerns.
• Britain's long-reigning monarch also tried to help the prime ministers in any way she could.

Royal assent:

• After the House of Commons and House of Lords approve a Bill, it is sent to the monarch for approval, which is then turned into a law.

Constitutional crisis:

• In times of grave constitutional crisis, the monarch is allowed to exercise their prerogative powers when they are allowed to go against ministerial advice.

Creating lords and knights:

• The monarch has the power to appoint lords who can sit in parliament.
• However, it is only exercised on the advice of government ministers.
• The monarch also confers knighthoods, which are given to those who have made a notable contribution to British society.
• A list of nominees is provided to the monarch by the government each year, for approval of public honours

Head of Church:

• Britain's monarch has the power to appoint archbishops and bishops, but it is only exercised only on the advice of a Church Commission.

About Charles 111:

Early life, family and education:

• Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George) was born on 14 November 1948 in Buckingham Palace as the first child of then-Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
• The death of his grandfather and the accession of his mother as Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 made Charles the heir apparent. As the monarch's eldest son, he automatically assumed the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
• He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, both of which his father attended as a child.
• He later spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.
• In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer, with whom he had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
• In 1996, the couple divorced.
• Diana died as a result of a car crash in Paris the following year.
• In 2005, Charles married his long-time partner, Camilla Parker Bowles

Prince of Wales:

• Charles was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 26 July 1958, though his investiture was not held until 1 July 1969, when he was crowned by his mother in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle.
• As Prince of Wales, Charles undertook official duties on behalf of Elizabeth II. He founded the youth charity the Prince's Trust in 1976, sponsors the Prince's Charities, and is a patron, president, or a member of over 400 other charities and organisations.
• He has advocated for the conservation of historic buildings and the importance of architecture in society.
• A critic of modernist architecture, Charles worked on the creation of Poundbury, an experimental new town based on his architectural tastes.
• He is also an author or co-author of a number of books.
• An environmentalist, Charles supported organic farming and action to prevent climate change during his time as the manager of the Duchy of Cornwall estates, earning him awards and recognition from environmental groups.
• Since the 1970s, Charles has promoted environmental awareness.
• At the age of 21, he delivered his first speech on environmental issues in his capacity as the chairman of the Welsh Countryside Committee.
• He is also a prominent critic of the adoption of genetically modified food.

 King Charles 111 and India:

• King Charles III has a strong connection with India and its age-old traditions of Yoga and Ayurveda.
• The 73-year-old King, who has made several visits to India as the Prince of Wales over the years, has focussed many of his charitable efforts on India through his British Asian Trust – founded by him in 2007 to tackle poverty and hardship in South Asia.
• He has visited India ten times.
• In 2010, Charles represented the Queen at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
• In April 2018, he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Science Museum in London to launch a new Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence, aimed at creating a first-of-its-kind global network for evidence-based research on Yoga and Ayurveda.

• His wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort, is also believed to practice Yoga.

• He celebrated his 71st birthday on November 14.

• He also participated in events honouring India-UK relations.

• One of the most talked about visits of Charles was in 1980, when he was a 32-year-old bachelor.
• During a visit to Mumbai in 2003, Prince Charles met the dabbawalas as he was intrigued by their method of functioning. They were later invited as guests to the wedding of Charles and Camila in 2005.