Prince Charles plans to claim the government pension he qualifies for when he turns 65 on Thursday, but he still hasn't started the job he was born to do.

The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II has been heir to the throne since his mother became monarch in 1952, when he was 3. He is the longest-waiting heir apparent in Britain's history, overtaking Queen Victoria's son, Edward VII, two years ago.

Charles became a grandfather earlier this year with the birth of Prince George, the first child born to Prince William and his wife, Kate.

Palace officials said Wednesday that Charles will contribute the government pension to a charity that helps elderly people.

The future king is entitled to about 110 pounds ($175) per week because of his service in the Royal Navy and voluntary contributions he has made.

As Prince of Wales, he certainly doesn't need the pension fund. He enjoys control of the lucrative Duchy of Cornwall, a vast holding established in 1337 by King Edward II to provide income for his heir. It brings Charles millions each year.

The prince, who is accompanied by his wife, Camilla, will mark his milestone birthday representing his mother at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka after spending part of the day in India.

For decades, the queen has attended the meeting, and Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said that Charles saw taking her place as "quite a momentous occasion."

Stepping in for the queen has become more common in recent years as Elizabeth, 87, has greatly reduced her international travel. Her husband, Prince Philip, 92, has also reduced his public appearances following a series of medical setbacks.

Over his decades as heir, Charles has become known for his strong opinions on topics such as education, architecture, religion, the environment, organic food and homeopathy.

Little said the prince was enjoying his relative freedom to speak out before he becomes king, a role that will require him to be much more cautious in his pronouncements.

"I think he's very much making use of the time available to him in that he can put forward theories and get things done that he won't be able to do when he becomes king," said Little.

Charles has also celebrated his birthday by serving as guest editor of a special edition of Country Life magazine, which shares his enthusiasm for preserving Britain's rural areas.

Charles used his stint in the editor's chair to upbraid supermarket chains for taking advantage of Britain's small farmers and said Britain's farming heritage is at risk.

In an editorial column, he called the countryside "the unacknowledged backbone of our national identity."

In recent years, Charles has also criticized financial companies which he says focus on short-term gains at the expense of the environment.

據(jù)美國(guó)哥倫比亞廣播公司11月13日?qǐng)?bào)道，英國(guó)王儲(chǔ)查爾斯11月14日就年滿(mǎn)65歲了，已經(jīng)有資格領(lǐng)取政府退休金了，但是他還沒(méi)有開(kāi)始從事與生俱來(lái)被賦予的那份工作——國(guó)王。

1952年伊麗莎白二世登基，當(dāng)時(shí)年僅3歲的查爾斯作為女王膝下長(zhǎng)子，順理成章地成為了王儲(chǔ)。今年7月，威廉王子和凱特王妃的寶寶喬治王子誕生，查爾斯當(dāng)上了爺爺。從垂髫稚子到花甲老人，60多年過(guò)去了，已經(jīng)子孫滿(mǎn)堂的查爾斯還是未能繼承王位。其實(shí)早在兩年前，查爾斯就已經(jīng)“趕超”維多利亞女王的兒子愛(ài)德華七世、成為英國(guó)史上等待時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的王位繼承人。

查爾斯曾在英國(guó)皇家海軍服役，根據(jù)政府相關(guān)規(guī)定，他在年滿(mǎn)65歲后就可以領(lǐng)取每周110英鎊(約合人民幣1074元)的退休金了。不過(guò)坐擁“康沃爾公爵領(lǐng)地”、每年有數(shù)百萬(wàn)英鎊進(jìn)賬的查爾斯顯然不用靠這筆錢(qián)過(guò)活。英國(guó)王室發(fā)言人13日宣布，查爾斯將把這筆退休金捐贈(zèng)給幫助老年人的慈善團(tuán)體。

在度過(guò)65歲生日后，查爾斯將代表母親出席15日到17日舉行的英聯(lián)邦政府首腦會(huì)議。在此前數(shù)十年里，伊麗莎白二世從未缺席過(guò)此類(lèi)會(huì)議�！锻跏译s志》主編喬·利特爾說(shuō)，查爾斯將在一些“相當(dāng)重要的場(chǎng)合”代替女王行使職責(zé)。已經(jīng)87歲高齡的女王近年來(lái)大大減少了國(guó)際行程，查爾斯則越來(lái)越多地代替女王出現(xiàn)在公眾視野里。

在過(guò)去的幾十年里，查爾斯曾在教育、建筑、宗教、環(huán)境、有機(jī)食品等方面表達(dá)了自己鮮明的觀(guān)點(diǎn)。利特爾稱(chēng)，查爾斯很享受能夠相對(duì)自由的這段時(shí)光，一旦當(dāng)上國(guó)王，他將不得不更加謹(jǐn)言慎行。