WORLD'S OLDEST APPRENTICE

As he celebrates his 75th birthday, we look back at our King’s unique childhood

There was no doubt about the destiny of Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor from the moment he was born in 1948.

His mother, then Princess Elizabeth, was next in line to the British throne. As her first child- and a boy - it was a foregone conclusion that as long as he outlived the Queen, he would inherit the title of Monarch from her. Young Charles was born to be king.

But when he was crowned Charles III on May 6 this year, he became the first sovereign in four generations to officially step into the job he was fated to do since birth. Apart from Edward VIII who was king for less than a year before abdicating and never crowned - Charles is the first British monarch in more than 120 years who has spent his whole life knowing what his future held and being able to prepare for it.

Edward VII - Charles' great-great-grandfather - was the last coronated king to be in that position. Born in 1841, he was the second child of Queen Victoria, but as the first son, he knew the top job would be his, thanks to the rules of succession at the time that favoured males. He was able to prepare accordingly, including undergoing a rigorous educational programme devised by his father, Prince Albert, who wanted him to be a model constitutional monarch.

Like Charles III, he had a long wait to take over the throne - Edward was 59 when his mother died and he became king.