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Kingchaz3

King Charles III of the Federated Kingdom of Great Britain and the Isles

His Majesty King Charles III of the Federated Kingdom of Great Britain and the Isles (born 14th November 1948) is the current King of the British and Commonwealth nations. He acceded to the throne when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II abdicated on the advice of Lord Louis Mountbatten and was crowned on 14th June 1983 at Westminster Abbey.

His reign is notable in a number of ways. Shortly after becoming King, he was involved in the disestablishment of the Church, in cooperation with the Healey Government and some members of the Church itself. A move less popular with the King was the abolition of bloodsports by the same government. The requirement of the Sovereign not to marry a Catholic was also removed early in his reign. Another remarkable act of his reign was his reintroduction of the practice of the healing touch from Maundy Thursday (19th April) 1984 and the circulation of touchpieces, which had last been practiced by Queen Anne on 14th April 1714.

He was also connected to a number of changes in coinage. The 20p piece was replaced by the Crown, worth 25p, when he came to the throne, and in connection with the touchpiece, the Angel was introduced, a coin with a face value of 30p. Later in his reign, the £5 note was replaced with a coin.

In the second decade after his coronation, the United Kingdom was successively broken up into smaller political units and Ireland was unified, so that his title was re-styled "King Charles III of the Federated Kingdom of Great Britain and the Isles".

His consort is Queen Amanda and they have three children, including Prince Louis, the heir apparent.

He is also the first monarch to go into space, a venture seen as a vote of confidence in the safety of space travel, though it has also led to the nickname "The Space Cadet King".

Reputation[]

In general, the King has done much to improve the reputation of the British monarchy and it is in fact now even more popular than in the post-war era, in the sense that there is much enthusiasm for his role in some circles. However, there are several groups among which he is personally very unpopular. This includes much of the orthodox medical profession, who tend to see him as supporting complementary medicine without good evidence. Certain factions within the Church are against him because of his disestablishmentarianism, and the right wing of the British Unionist Party is also opposed to his ideas but not his office.

As a result of his influence, the period from his coronation onwards is referred to as the Caroline Era rather than as the '80s, '90s and the early 21st century in the Commonwealth.

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