15 adorable photos of King Charles from his childhood

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


Prince Charles peeking out of window at cottage at Royal Lodge, Windsor
On 14 November 2023

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. 

Discover some of King Charles’s cutest moments from his royally-lavish lifestyle as a child…

© Getty

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.

© PA Images

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.

© Getty

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.  

© Getty

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.

© Getty

King of his castle

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

© Getty

The smiling Prince

A bonnie looking Charles smiling from his pram in 1950. 

© Lisa Sheridan

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.  

© Getty

Charles in his crib

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

© Getty

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.

© Getty

A future monarch in the making

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

© Getty

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. 

© Getty

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. 

© Getty

Suited and booted

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

© Getty

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.

© Getty

A different kind of rein

Here the royal is seen with his mother riding in Windsor Castle together.

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