King Charles laughing in military uniform© Getty

King Charles looks identical to surprising royal relative

The former Prince of Wales had us thinking we were seeing double!

July 3, 2024

King Charles III may no longer be the Prince of Wales, but did you know he looks so much like one of his royal ancestors who also bore the same title?

A young King Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, looked so much like his great-great-grandson King Charles in his 30s, as you can see from the striking image below. The pair had a lot in common, both ascending the throne later in their lives following the deaths of their monarch mothers Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II.

The King shares a striking resemblance to King Edward VII

According to the Historic Royal Palaces official website, Edward was exceptionally well-travelled and had a passion for art. "In 1892 after the tragic death of his son, the Duke of Clarence, Edward commissioned Alfred Gilbert to create the Art Nouveau tomb at Windsor.

"This extraordinary tour-de-force of whiplash metal forms and sculpted figures is a fine memorial, located in the Albert Memorial Chapel, at St George's Chapel, though it rather dominates in size and scale."

He also used to gift his wife, Queen Alexandra of Denmark Fabragé eggs who had been introduced to Fabergé by her sister, Marie Fedorovna (from 1881 the Tsarina of Russia).

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Edward was also responsible for a lot of refurbishments, both to Buckingham Palace and to Sandringham. 

One of his most famous commissions was at Sandringham in the form of model animals. "Craftsmen came to Sandringham and made wax models of the animals and then the models were sent to Moscow where they were carved in different hard stones in the workshop of Henrik Wigström.

"They were kept in stock by Fabergé London and purchased over the years by family and friends. The Royal Collection now has more than 200 of them," the website explains.

It isn't just Queen Victoria's son who has a royal lookalike, as the late monarch herself has a certainly striking royal relative too. 

Princess Beatrice has often been compared to her great-great-great-great-grandmother, particularly when she was pictured filming for The Young Victoria, a film produced by none other than her mother, Sarah Ferguson.

Princess Beatrice looks so much like a young Queen Victoria

Beatrice was pictured in-between takes donning a period ensemble comprised of an off-the-shoulder ball gown, her hair separated in the middle and swept up in a classical updo.

The image of the flame-haired Princess couldn't be more similar to that of her royal ancestry, particularly in a portrait painting by Alexander Melville in 1845.

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