King Charles III Trivia Quiz

Answer: Buckingham Palace

All of the options listed are residences associated with the Royals, but it was at Buckingham Palace that the then Princess Elizabeth gave birth to her first child. King George VI was the monarch, although he had only just over three years left to live. Charles's sister, Anne, was born in 1950 at Clarence House.

Charles's mother became Queen in February 1952, making him the heir apparent to the throne.

Answer: Cambridge

Prince Charles studied History, Archaeology and Anthropology at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1970. He spent a term at Aberystwyth University during his course studying Welsh language and history. Following this he spent some time in both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. Only one of his siblings, Edward, also went to university. He studied at Cambridge but at Jesus College.

Of the other options, it was Charles's son, Prince William, who studied at St Andrews. His niece, Eugenie, went to Newcastle and both Peter and Zara Phillips, Princess Anne's children, went to Exeter.

Answer: True

The monarch's oldest male child is traditionally given the title of Prince of Wales - Prince William was confirmed by the new King Charles III as Prince of Wales the day after his accession in 2022. Although Charles was created Prince of Wales (with the secondary title of Earl of Chester) in 1958, the official investiture ceremony did not take place until Charles was twenty.

The ceremony took place at Caernarfon Castle in north west Wales, one of the many castles built on the orders of King Edward I. The Prince of Wales took care to learn some Welsh and spoke in both Welsh and English during the ceremony.

Answer: Dorset

The village of Poundbury is located near Dorchester, the county town of Dorset and was built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The project incorporates Charles's ideas of a community which is integrated, with housing, shops and businesses in the same locations, rather than people having to commute to reach their places of employment.

Work on the project began in 1993 and the projected completion date at the time of writing this quiz is 2025. The village is expected to support just under 6,000 residents once it is complete.

Answer: The Queen Mother (his grandmother)

Once Charles reached his thirties, there was some pressure on him to make a 'suitable' marriage and secure the succession by fathering children. He had dated several high profile girlfriends, including the then Camilla Shand, but none had progressed towards marriage.

Diana Spencer was the granddaughter of Lady Fermoy, a lady-in-waiting to Charles's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Charles was close to his grandmother and both she and Lady Fermoy were, according to many reliable sources, very much in favour of the marriage.

On paper, it seemed a good match but the age difference, lack of common interests and Charles's own doubts that he had made the right choice of wife meant the marriage was destined not to last.

Lord Mountbatten was already dead by this time, and might have counseled against the marriage, although he had tried to push his own daughter as a prospective bride previously.

Answer: National Gallery

It's fair to say that Charles is not a fan of modern architecture and his speech, made at a dinner held by the Royal Institute of British Architects, made this explicit. It caused shock waves as the Royal family are meant to be non controversial. Whatever the rights or wrongs, the extension was never built.

The speech left another legacy in the Carbuncle Cup, awarded between 2006 and 2018 to the architects of the building judged to be the ugliest built in the past twelve months.

Answer: Duchess of Cornwall

It is widely accepted that the decision that Camilla should not use the Princess of Wales title was in deference to Diana, who was still known as Diana, Princess of Wales until her untimely death in 1997. Charles's marriage to Camilla was not without controversy, as he had remained in touch with her through most of his marriage to Diana, leading the latter to describe the marriage as having three people in it.

All the titles relate to others held by the Prince of Wales (Prince William since his father's accession), but it was as the Duchess of Cornwall that Camilla was most often known. Once Charles became king, she became known as Camilla, Queen Consort.

Answer: True

Because of Queen Elizabeth II's longevity, Charles was heir apparent for nearly seventy-four years, and was also the longest serving Prince of Wales at just over sixty-four years. In addition, his age at accession of seventy-three years exceeds that of any previous monarch.

The only other monarch to come close is Edward VII, who was heir apparent and Prince of Wales from November 1841 until January 1901 when Queen Victoria died. He was fifty-nine when he became king.

The main difference between Charles and Edward is that Queen Victoria was reluctant to allow her heir to become involved in the day to day running of the country. Some politicians secretly sent him papers, it seems. Charles, by contrast, stood in for Queen Elizabeth II regularly and is likely to be better prepared for his new role.

Answer: Albert

The full name of King Charles is Charles Philip Arthur George, with Philip in honour of his father, the Duke of Edinburgh and George for his grandfather, King George VI. The previous king had used his fourth name under which to reign as his full name was Albert Frederick Arthur George, commonly known as Bertie to his family. Prior to his accession, there was some discussion about whether Charles would choose to be the third king of that name, since the first King Charles has gone down in history as the only English monarch to be executed.

There is no requirement for a monarch to use their first name. Queen Victoria was actually Alexandrina Victoria and Edward VII was Albert Edward.

Answer: Westminster Abbey

The first monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abbey was William I (the Conqueror) whose coronation took place on Christmas Day 1066. Since then it has been traditional for Westminster Abbey to be the venue for the formal ceremony which confirms the new monarch in his or her role. The only exceptions are the two kings who were never crowned - King Edward V usurped by Richard III and presumed murdered, and King Edward VIII who abdicated prior to the date set for his coronation.

The coronation of King Charles III took place on Saturday 6 May 2023, and the Queen Consort was crowned at the same time.