15 adorable photos of King Charles from his childhood

Discover the sweetest snaps of the British monarch on his 75th birthday

14 Nov 2023

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon

The King celebrates his 75th birthday today and what a year it has been for the monarch!

Charles was officially crowned at his and Queen Camilla's historic coronation at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, with the King marking the first year of his reign in September.

There has also been state visits, his first birthday parade and his first summer as host at Balmoral.

But we're taking things back to the King's childhood, where he had a loyal playmate in the form of his younger sister, Princess Anne, and was doted on particularly by the late Queen Mother.

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Family portrait

King Charles posed for a famous portrait photograph with his parents Prince Philip and the Queen, who was pictured holding her then-youngest child, Princess Anne.

A young Queen Elizabeth with her children known then as Prince Charles and Princess Anne on her 1st birthday

Portrait with the Queen

Princess Elizabeth beamed as she sat with her children Prince Charles and Princess Anne on the Princess Royal’s first birthday. Her older brother looked ever-so-sweet in a snug shirt and shorts.

King Charles, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, playing with a glove puppet in his toy car whilst staying at Balmoral

Playing with puppets

In this snap from 1952, King Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, was spotted playing with a glove puppet in his toy car whilst staying at Balmoral.

King Charles driving in a toy car on the grounds of Balmoral Castle

Zooming around Balmoral

That very same day, Queen Elizabeth was captured watching her son playing in his toy car while at Balmoral as she played with his rabbit puppet.

Prince Charles standing on the wall at Clarence House with Princess Elizabeth in 1950

King of his castle

Charles surveys his surroundings from the wall of Clarence House in 1950 as Princess Elizabeth looks on.

The smiling Prince

A bonnie looking Charles smiling from his pram in 1950.

A young Prince Charles playing with a corgi on the terrace of the Royal Lodge at Windsor

Puppy play date

That very same day, Queen Elizabeth was captured watching her son playing in his toy car while at Balmoral as she played with his rabbit puppet.

Queen Elizabeth II of England with her baby Charles in the crib

Charles in his crib

Those cheeks! A baby Charles loved to chill in his crib alongside his royal mother.

A childhood portrait of the baby King Charles in his basket at Buckingham Palace

Newborn portrait

Even the least broody of the bunch couldn't resist this royal baby. This portrait taken in 1949 shows the mini monarch swathed in his basket at Buckingham palace.

An official portrait of Charles on his sixth birthday

A future monarch in the making

The little prince captured looking ever so regal ahead of his sixth birthday.

Charles climbing a tree at Royal Lodge, Windsor

At one with nature

Charles has long been an advocate for the environment and like many of the royals, shares a love for the great outdoors.

The royal family loved to relax together at their home in Balmoral, Scotland

And then there were three

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with their children Princess Anne, Prince Charles (right) and Prince Andrew on his first holiday to Balmoral.

Then-Prince Charles and Princess Anne walking at the Windsor castle in 1958

Suited and booted

Nothing says childhood nostalgia quite like a pair of knee-high socks, right?

The Queen Mother, wife of George VI, with her grandson Charles and Pippin the dog

With the Queen Mother

Taken in 1950, this snap depicts Queen Elizabeth (1900 - 2002), wife of George VI, with her grandson Charles and Pippin the dog - which surprisingly, is not a corgi.