King Charles's Family: Marriage, Children and a Few Surprising Connections
From 'whatever love means' to a genealogical link to Vlad the Impaler, here is the family history behind the King, told with warmth and a light touch.
Behind the constitutional role and the decades of ceremony sits a family history with a genuinely eventful shape: two marriages, five grandchildren, a beloved nanny, and, improbably, a documented link to one of history’s more notorious figures.
Two marriages, decades apart
Charles married Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral on 29 July 1981, following a proposal at Windsor Castle earlier that February. The marriage lasted fifteen years before their 1996 divorce, and Diana died the following year in a car accident in Paris. In 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall; she became Queen Camilla following his 2022 accession, having been known as Queen Consort in the months immediately beforehand.
”Whatever love means”
Charles and Diana’s 1981 televised engagement interview produced one of the most-quoted moments in modern royal history. Asked by an interviewer whether the couple were in love, Charles responded, “Whatever love means,” a remark Diana later said had genuinely unsettled her at the time. The line has followed Charles for more than four decades since, cited endlessly as an early sign of the strain that would eventually define the marriage’s later years.
Two sons, five grandchildren
Charles and Diana had two sons: William, Prince of Wales, born in 1982, and Harry, Duke of Sussex, born in 1984. Between them, Charles now has five grandchildren: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, William and Catherine’s children, and Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Harry and Meghan’s children. Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and remain non-working members of the family, continuing their public and charitable work independently.
A nanny he called his “second mother”
Long before any of that, Charles’s own childhood was shaped significantly by his nanny, Mabel Anderson, who cared for him from infancy. Those close to the family have described the bond as remaining close well into his adulthood, with Charles reportedly able to discuss feelings and frustrations with her that he found harder to raise elsewhere. Decades later, as King, he visited her to celebrate her 100th birthday, a gesture widely read as a genuine, longstanding personal loyalty rather than mere ceremony.
A surprising ancestral link
Among the more entertaining pieces of royal genealogy, Charles has a documented, if distant, ancestral connection to Vlad III of Wallachia, better known as Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure who partly inspired the Dracula legend, through his descent from Mary of Teck, wife of George V. Charles has spoken about the connection himself, telling a Romanian television audience in a 2011 documentary that his genealogy shows the link, adding, with evident good humour, that he had “a bit of a stake” in the country as a result.
A family history worth knowing in full
Told together, these threads round out a figure often discussed purely through the lens of constitutional duty: a man whose first marriage ended in a divorce that reshaped the monarchy’s public image, whose second marriage has by most accounts brought considerable personal stability, and whose family tree includes a nanny he loved dearly and a fifteenth-century Wallachian prince he mentions with a wink. For readers who want the fuller family story, several detailed King Charles III biographies cover this history in considerably more depth.
Browse more of our Royal Figures stories for the fuller story of the modern monarchy’s family history.
Frequently asked questions
Who has King Charles been married to?
Diana Spencer, from 1981 until their 1996 divorce, and Camilla Parker Bowles, whom he married in 2005 and who became Queen Camilla following his 2022 accession.
What did Charles say about being “in love” with Diana?
During their 1981 engagement interview, when asked if they were in love, he replied, “Whatever love means,” a remark widely quoted since as an early sign of strain in the marriage.
How many children and grandchildren does King Charles have?
Two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and five grandchildren: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Are Harry and Meghan still working royals?
No. They stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and remain non-working members of the family, continuing independent public and charitable work.
Who was King Charles’s childhood nanny?
Mabel Anderson, who cared for him from infancy and remained close to him well into adulthood. He visited her to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Is King Charles really related to Vlad the Impaler?
Yes, distantly, through his descent from Mary of Teck. Charles has spoken about the connection himself in a 2011 television documentary.
Family and biographical details are drawn from standard royal-historical sources and Charles’s own public remarks; correct as of 2026.
