Childhood
Childhood
Prince Charles lived in Buckingham Palace, where he was born, until he was eight months old.
His parents, Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh, then moved to Clarence House.
Princess Anne, now The Princess Royal, was born on 15th August 1950, and the children had two nannies, Helen Lightbody and Mabel Anderson.
King George VI died on 6th February 1952, and his elder daughter Princess Elizabeth became Queen. The three-year-old Prince was now Heir to the Throne.
The Prince's new status made him The Duke of Cornwall. He was also automatically given the Scottish titles Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
Shortly after Easter 1952, The Queen and her family moved back to Buckingham Palace. On 2nd June 1953, The Prince attended his mother's Coronation at Westminster Abbey.
He sat between The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret and later joined The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
The Queen appointed a governess, Catherine Peebles, shortly before The Prince's fifth birthday.
On 10th May 1955, Buckingham Palace announced that The Prince would go to school, rather than have a private tutor as had previous Heirs to The Throne. On 7th November, 1956, a week before his eighth birthday, Miss Peebles accompanied The Prince to Hill House, a pre-preparatory school in West London. This would be followed by life as a boarder at Cheam School in Berkshire, and then Gordonstoun in Scotland.
Prince Andrew, now The Duke of York, was born on 19th February 1960, and Prince Edward, now The Earl of Wessex, was born on 10th March 1964.
Life during the holidays at The Queen's Scottish estate Balmoral, and the Norfolk estate Sandringham, gave The Prince the opportunity to develop a love of the countryside and the natural environment.
During visits to Windsor, the young Prince found evidence, in state rooms lined with great paintings and a library full of historic treasures, of the Royal and national heritage he was born to protect.