NEW DELHI: King Charles III will be officially proclaimed monarch on Saturday at a meeting of the Accession Council and his coronation is likely to take place after the state funeral of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, who passed away on Thursday aged 96.
King Charles III has had an association with India spanning many decades.
Charles has visited India ten times. He rang in his 71st birthday in India on November 14th, 2019. He also took part in celebrations of India-UK relations.
During the course of his visit, he spoke about sustainable markets, climate change and social finance.
King Charles III has a strong connection Yoga and Ayurveda.
In April 2018, he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Science Museum in London to launch a new Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence, aimed at creating a first-of-its-kind global network for evidence-based research on Yoga and Ayurveda.
His wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort, is also believed to practice Yoga.
Interestingly, one of the most talked about visits of Charles was in 1980, when he was a 32-year-old bachelor. He visited a Bollywood studio and was greeted by Indian actor, Padmini Kolhapure, with a peck on his cheek. This incident grabbed headlines both in India and in the UK for many days.
During the same visit, he also toured Orissa as the state guest and stayed at the Raj Bhawan, Bhubaneshwar, for a few days.
During a visit to Mumbai in 2003, Prince Charles met the dabbawalas as he was intrigued by their method of functioning. They were later invited as guests to the wedding of Charles and Camila in 2005.
Some of the dabbawalas also had breakfast with the Queen in Windsor Castle. The Queen inquired after them when Mumbai came under attack in 2008.
Meanwhile, with his accession to the British throne, Charles has also become Head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries including India and 2.4 billion people. For 14 of these countries, as well as the UK, the King is the Head of State.
People in the UK are divided on the issue of continuation of the monarchy with a slight bias towards the royal head of State remaining. Since the past few centuries, the monarch is only a titular head in the UK which means they reign but do not rule.
After his coronation, King Charles will have some unusual rights, which include travelling without a passport, driving without a licence and owning all the mute swans in England.