King Charles tours Yorkshire
Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Arthur Edwards served as a royal photographer for The Sun for 45 years
  • Edwards called King Charles a visionary and a genuinely kind man
  • He added that King Charles became a megastar after succeeding the throne

King Charles wants to make a difference, according to a royal photographer.

Arthur Edwards, who has served as a royal photographer for The Sun for 45 years, joined 200 tours in over 120 countries and captured intimate moments for the royal family, including seven royal weddings, five funerals and seven births. He opened up about the things many may not know about King Charles in his new photo book, "Behind the Crown: My Life Photographing the Royal Family."

He shared some things he noticed and observed after decades of working with King Charles. For him, Prince William and Prince Harry's father is dedicated to making a difference.

"I watched this prince who was a visionary make these proclamations about architecture and organic food and saving the sea from plastic. And I realized he was just doing everything he could to make a difference," Edwards told People. "As he said, 'Not for me, but for my children and grandchildren.' I felt he's just a lovely person to work with, and I wanted to put it all down."

The veteran photographer is also confident with His Majesty's leadership, considering the length of time he waited to succeed to the throne.

"For 70 years, he waited to become the King, but he wasn't going to sort of just sit there and play backgammon and shoot champagne. He was going to make a difference, and he did. He's a pioneer for the underdog. If a big supermarket was coming to a village where all the local shops would be destroyed, he'd fight for the village," Edwards said.

The photographer also praised King Charles' authenticity when he spoke about the changes he noticed after the then-Prince Charles became king. Edwards said he became a "big megastar."

"He's just a genuinely kind man, and so far he's at a great start to his reign as King. And I think the people now are behind him. I went to Bolton, a town in the north of England, about three weeks ago, and the crowds were 30 deep, come to see him!" he continued. "Now, he never got that as Prince of Wales. Suddenly at 74, he's become this big megastar, like a rockstar, and everybody wants to come and see him. It's strange to sing 'God Save the King' now, not 'God Save the Queen.' So yeah, things have changed."

King Charles and his wife Camilla will be crowned king and queen at Westminster Abbey on May 6. He had already sent an official invitation to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they had already received the invitation. However, they didn't confirm their attendance at the event.

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