Born to be King - CHARLES' TIME TO SHINE

The world’s oldest apprentice is keen to make the most of his time on the throne

From the moment he drew his first breath, his fate in life was sealed. Given that he was the first-born child and a boy, Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor was destined to one day be king.

Just three years old when his grandfather George VI died and his mother Elizabeth II became Queen - and he became heir apparent - it was to be several more years before it sunk in that he would follow in her footsteps to become monarch.

In an interview when he was 21, the then Prince Charles revealed that as a small boy, he wanted to be a train driver, then a sailor or a soldier, until he realised he didn't have a choice when it came to his career. "It's something that dawns on you with the most ghastly, inexorable sense. I didn't suddenly wake up in my pram one day and say "Yippee', you know."

Given the title Prince of Wales when he was nine (but not officially invested until he was 21), Charles is the longest-serving heir to the throne. Now he's King, his image is shaped by the 70 years he spent as an apprentice sovereign. The trials and tribulations of his personal life - from the breakdown of his first marriage to an adored woman whose popularity eclipsed his own and his long-standing affair with the woman who is now his queen, to his fractured relationship with his second son- have led to people forming strong opinions of him.

So, too, has his stance on issues dear to him such as climate change, architecture and immigration. The Monarch is supposed to steer clear of any issues that might be seen as political, which the Queen successfully managed. However, as her heir, Charles had a bit more leeway to champion causes close to his heart and he unabashedly did that.