Following the sad death of the Queen at the age of 96, her eldest son has now become the ruling monarch of the UK and will be King Charles III with his wife Camilla, now Queen Consort. His Majesty has been heir to the throne since his mother became Queen in 1952, when he was just three-years -old.
Charles, who is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip 's four children, has spent his lifetime preparing to fulfil his royal destiny. In many interviews over the years, he has spoken about following in the footsteps of his mother and what he would be like as King of England.
For the latest updates as the world mourns the Queen and King Charles III's reign begins, follow our live blog.
Dreaming of kingship
Many decades ago, Charles admitted to "daydreaming" about the things he would do as king.
In his 1994 biography, author Jonathan Dimbleby wrote: "Prince Charles is far more aware of the prospective burdens of kingship than its pleasures."
Charles told him: "If at some stage in the distant future I was to succeed my mama then obviously I would do my best to fulfil that role… Sometimes you daydream the sort of things you might do."
He added that there was "an enormous weight of expectation" which could be very difficult to come to terms with but that he had been brought up to feel he had a particular duty to the country.
"The difficulty is most of the time not feeling that one is worthy of it, inevitably," he said.
Making his mark
On a royal American tour in 2005, Charles spoke to CBS News about the misconceptions of his duties as prince and heir to the throne.
He expressed his constant worry for the people of the nation and his sheer determination to leave an impact.
When asked how he would describe his occupation on paper, Charles said: "I would list it as worrying about this country and its inhabitants. That's my particular duty.
"And I find myself born into this particular position. I'm determined to make the most of it. And to do whatever I can to help.
"And I hope I leave things behind a little bit better than I found them.
"It's hard to say, but I think it is a profession, actually; doing what I'm doing. Because if you tried it for a bit, you might find out how difficult it is."
Duty to worry
In a 2013 Time interview, Charles opened up about his drive to leave the country in a better place after his reign.
He said: "I've had this extraordinary feeling, for years and years, ever since I can remember really, of wanting to heal and make things better.
"I feel more than anything else it's my duty to worry about everybody and their lives in this country, to try to find a way of improving things if I possibly can."
Born to be king
It has long been debated whether Charles would make the decision to bypass his rightful heir to the throne, and instead allow his eldest son, Prince William, to become king.
Speaking to Time in 2013, Charles suggested this wouldn't be the case, when he said: "If you chuck away too many things, you end up discovering there was value in them."
No more meddling
Charles has long been known for his political interventions and opinions about a number of topics close to his heart, such as climate change and GM crops.
Four years ago, he admitted he was an "inveterate interferer and meddler" - however, he said this would all change as King.
In a BBC documentary celebrating his 70th birthday, Charles pledged to not comment on controversial issues once he became sovereign.
"There's only room for one sovereign at the time, not two," he shared.
"Clearly … I won't be able to do the same things I've done, you know, as heir, so of course you operate within the... the constitutional parameters."
Heir to the throne
At the Prince's Trust Awards Trophy Ceremony at St. James' Palace last year, Charles light-heartedly addressed the rumours of his reign.
He recalled a visit he once took to discount store T.K. Maxx.
"I remember there were an enormous number of people who were trying to get in, as they were waiting for me to get out. Story of my life…" Charles joked.
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