Charles was originally styled as "His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Edinburgh" per
letters patent issued by his grandfather
George VI. Upon the accession of his mother as queen, as the eldest son of the monarch, Charles automatically became, in
England, the
Duke of Cornwall and, in
Scotland, the
Duke of Rothesay,
Earl of Carrick,
Baron of Renfrew,
Lord of the Isles, and
Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. As such, he was styled "His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall", except in Scotland, where he was known as "His Royal Highness The Duke of Rothesay" instead. In 1958,
letters patent from the then sovereign made Charles the
Prince of Wales and
Earl of Chester and, on 1 July 1969, he was invested as such during
a ceremony in which a coronet and robes were placed on him. In 2021, upon the death of his father,
Prince Philip, Charles furthermore inherited the titles
Duke of Edinburgh,
Earl of Merioneth, and
Baron Greenwich. When he became the British sovereign himself on 8 September 2022, these titles
merged with the Crown.
Regnal name In an announcement following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister
Liz Truss referred to Charles as King Charles III, the first official usage of that name. Shortly afterwards
Clarence House confirmed that he would use the regnal name
Charles III. There had previously been speculation that he might choose a different name, because the previous two monarchs named
Charles are both associated with negative events in royal history:
Charles I was beheaded in 1649 and
Charles II reigned during the
Great Plague and the
Great Fire of London. The name
Charles III is also associated with the
Jacobite pretender,
Charles Edward Stuart, who claimed the throne under that name in the 18th century. The most discussed alternative regnal name had been
George VII, in honour of Charles' maternal grandfather; although, prior to succeeding to the throne, Charles denied discussing a regnal name at all.
Regnal style Each
Commonwealth realm acts as an independent monarchy but in a personal union; as such, King Charles has different titles in each realm: The King's full British styles and titles were read out at the
state funeral of his mother by
David White,
Garter Principal King of Arms, as follows:
Let us humbly beseech Almighty God to bless with long life, health and honour, and all worldly happiness the Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch, our Sovereign Lord, Charles III, now, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. In conversation, the correct etiquette is to address him initially as
Your Majesty and thereafter as
Sir.
Commonwealth On 20 April 2018, the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that Charles would succeed his mother as
Head of the Commonwealth, which he did on her death on 8 September 2022.
Ecclesiastical titles King Charles has
Defender of the Faith as part of his title in both the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The phrase was dropped from his Canadian title in 2024.
Other (United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories) Other ==Military and police ranks and titles==