King Charles III

The Prince of Wales is dressed in blue graduation style robes and is being handed a scroll on a stage by another man wearing similar graduation style robes and a hat

King Charles III, formerly known as The Prince of Wales, was born on 14 November 1948 and became heir apparent on the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

Before ascending the throne in October 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, His Majesty has undertaken official and ceremonial duties in the United Kingdom and overseas as The Prince of Wales, taking a keen and active interest in all areas of public life for decades. His Majesty was instrumental in establishing more than 20 charities over 40 years, including The Prince's Trust, The Prince's Foundation and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF).

The charities reflect His Majesty’s long-term and innovative perspective and seek to address areas of previously unmet need. These interests are also reflected in his close working relationship with many organisations, publicly supporting a wide variety of causes relating to the environment, rural communities, the built environment, the Arts, healthcare and education.

Much of His Majesty’s work links closely with subject and research areas championed by LJMU.

“In company with others engaged in that struggle against slavery, both here and abroad, Roscoe was considered a fool by many to challenge the received wisdom of his day. Indeed, here in Liverpool there were strong economic arguments for keeping things the way they were. And yet, against the odds, such figures managed to persuade people and parliament to widen and deepen their focus and to challenge and change the status quo.”

– HRH The Prince of Wales, 2007

In April 2007 LJMU awarded the then Prince of Wales with an Honorary Fellowship for services to charity, education and the environment.

His Majesty also delivered a Roscoe Lecture Our Duties as Guardians and Stewards, drawing on his lived experiences as the heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II, and his commitment to numerous humanitarian and social causes.

He is perhaps one of the most well-known people to deliver a Roscoe Lecture in the 25 years that the series has been running. In his lecture he reflected on the legacy of the lecture series’ namesake, the famous abolitionist William Roscoe.

“In company with others engaged in that struggle against slavery, both here and abroad, Roscoe was considered a fool by many to challenge the received wisdom of his day. Indeed, here in Liverpool there were strong economic arguments for keeping things the way they were. And yet, against the odds, such figures managed to persuade people and parliament to widen and deepen their focus and to challenge and change the status quo. And so society developed a new and more enlightened perspective.”

Watch his fellowship conferment and Roscoe Lecture.