Prince Charles has officially been named the King of England following the death of his mother, the reigning monarch for 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II.
The news was released by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Instagram account where, Prince Charles was announced as King after the Queen's "peaceful passing."
King Charles's father Prince Phillip was sixth in line to the Greek throne at birth. In a book by veteran Royal watcher Ian Llyod, 'The Duke: 100 Chapters in the Life of Prince Phillip' it was revealed that when Phillip's mother was having him, her doctor thought it was more expedient for her to give birth on the Mon Repos villa dining table rather than in her bed.
Philip’s father Prince Andrew was the son of King George I of Greece. When George was assassinated in 1913, Prince Andrew's brother Constantine (Philip’s uncle) became king.
Although born in Greece, Prince Philip’s family was exiled from the country when he was an infant after his uncle, the King Constantine, was forced to abdicate after Greece the loss of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922.
Philip’s father, who was working in the army at the time, was accused of treason and banished, fleeing to Paris with his family.
Philip’s mother converted to the Greek Orthodox Church but suffered delusions, thinking she was in a sexual relationship with Jesus and that she had a signed photo from him. She was later reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia was confined to a sanatorium in Switzerland.
The first time King Charles's mother, Queen Elizabeth, then eight, and Philip, 13, saw each other was at the wedding of her uncle, the Duke of Kent, to Philip’s cousin Princess Marina of Greece, on November 29, 1934.
While he was alive, Prince Philip signed himself with the Greek ‘P’
In January 1941 Philip joined the battleship HMS Valiant, helping convoy troops to bolster the British Expeditionary Force in Greece.
He manned the searchlights, identifying enemy targets. He later recalled one dramatic battle, saying: ‘All hell broke loose.’
On his wedding day, November 20, 1947, Philip wore his naval uniform with the stars of the Order of the Garter and the Greek Order of the Redeemer.
Charles, 73, now King Charles, has been next in line to the throne for seven decades – by a distance the longest wait in the history of the British monarchy. Neither he nor his courtiers have ever wished to speak publicly about the moment it is over. The prospect of the Queen’s death has always been considered a matter of great private sadness.
“He never wanted to think about accession because it meant the death of his mother,” a former aide said on Thursday.
Camilla will be crowned Queen consort on her husband Charles's accession to the throne.
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