By Omar Bah
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall last night jetted at the Banjul International Airport for a three-day visit to The Gambia.
Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall were welcomed by President Adama Barrow and his cabinet ministers, who escorted the Royals to Coco Ocean Hotel where they were received with a colorful cultural ceremony.
This morning, the Prince will hold a public function at the McCarthy Square for the official welcoming ceremony few hours after meeting the Gambian leader at State House.
Prince Charles was born on 14 November 1948 and is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II. He has been Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952, and is the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history.
He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held that title since 1958. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun Schools, which his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had attended as a child, as well as the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a bachelor of arts degree from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.
In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons: Prince William (b. 1982)—later to become Duke of Cambridge—and Prince Harry (b. 1984)—later to become Duke of Sussex. In 1996, the couple divorced following well-publicised extramarital affairs by both parties. Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris the following year. In 2005, Charles married long-time girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles.
