No one in British history has waited as long as he has for the throne: Prince Charles, who celebrates his 70th birthday on November 14th. For many he is simply the "eternal heir to the throne", but the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip has much more to offer. We present facts from his life that might surprise even royal fans.
You can find out five other sometimes bizarre habits and secrets in the video.
Prince Charles is a family man
Prince Charles apparently shows unexpected talents, especially as a grandfather: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as well as the grandchildren of his second wife Camilla are spoiled by their grandfather, as most recently in the BBC documentary "Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70". Camilla previously revealed that Charles enjoys reading "Harry Potter" to her grandchildren, giving each character a different voice. In addition, the heir to the throne should "crawl for hours" with the smaller children on the floor, make funny noises and laugh. He can also be seen playing with Prince Louis in the BBC film.
Prince Charles always has enough opportunities to prove himself as a family man. He has three siblings: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and several nephews and nieces. As is well known, Charles' sons from the marriage to Princess Diana already have their own families, and in addition to the three children of Prince William and his wife Duchess Kate, Charles' fourth grandchild is on the way: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are expecting children in the spring. Camilla has two children, Laura and Tom, with her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles, who also have children.
And Charles apparently also lovingly takes care of the married relatives: he not only stood in for Meghan's father, who was prevented, and led her to the altar at the wedding in May. There was also the moment when Charles took Meghan's mother Doria Ragland by the arm to go into a private room where papers for the marriage had to be signed. Camilla explained in the BBC documentary: "These are the things he does behind the scenes that people don't know about. I don't think people really realize how nice he is."
Prince Charles is a workaholic
What the BBC documentary celebrating Prince Charles' 70th birthday also revealed is that the heir to the throne is a workaholic. Among other things, William and Harry revealed that he sometimes just falls asleep over his papers. And that obviously worries his sons. William is quoted as saying that he is the fittest man he knows, but ultimately he wants his father to still be as fit at 95: That's why he would like him to be at home more.
The heir to the throne is a successful farmer
Prince Charles himself declared in the BBC play that when he was king he would refrain from getting involved in projects related to environmental protection or architecture: "I'm not that stupid," he said. There had previously been concerns that as a monarch he could become too involved in politics. "He is committed to environmental commitment and modern, green agriculture," explained Royal expert Höppner. These topics are important to him: "He is above all a farmer and businessman with environmental concerns. He runs a flourishing company: Charles produces everything from biscuits to jam."
Prince Charles has also made headlines with a car that runs on white wine. As "The Telegraph" reported in 2008, among other things, he had an Aston Martin, which he has driven since he was 21, converted. The car now reportedly runs entirely on ethanol made from surplus English wine. The good thing about it: As Charles explained, it now smells much more pleasant when driving. The car enthusiast now also has an electric car in his collection.
The title holder on the road
The heir to the throne holds numerous official titles: Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. Once he becomes king, Höppner reveals in her book "What comes after the Queen?" The choices are: Charles, Philip, Arthur and George. The 70-year-old currently heads a total of 19 charities. He is said to have made over 500 appearances in 2017, around 170 of them abroad. Charles' first official journey abroad was to M alta at the age of five. He has traveled to 44 of the 53 Commonwe alth countries since 1969.
A royal artist
Prince Charles plays cello, trumpet and piano, they say. And the future king likes to paint, fans can also buy his watercolor paintings, but you have to spend a few thousand euros for them. The website "news.artnet.com" reported in 2016 that Charles could have already earned over 6 million euros with his artworks. The 70-year-old has also written The Old Man of Lochnagar, a children's book that is said to be based on the stories he told his younger brothers Andrew and Edward as children. He has also written two works on ecology and sustainability.
