Britain's Prince Charles celebrates his 60th birthday on Friday with an improved rating in popular opinion.

The Prince of Wales, who is one of the longest-serving heirs to the British throne was greeted on his birthday by a poll showing more people prefer him to succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth as monarch¹ than his elder son William.

The poll, carried out by YouGov, found 42 percent of people were in favor of him succeeding the Queen, compared to 35 percent who thought the throne should skip a generation to Prince William, Charles's elder son.

When the same question was asked in 2005, only 31 percent backed Charles, while 42 percent preferred William.

Over the years there have been suggestions that Charles should renounce² his claim to the throne, with some arguing that his divorce from Diana and eventual³ remarriage conflicts with the monarch's role as head of the Church of England.

Charles was just three when his mother became Queen, making him, as her eldest⁴ son, heir to the throne. The Queen, now 82, is the oldest reigning⁵ monarch in the history of the nation and is still in good health. Her mother lived to be 101.

Only George IV, who became king in 1820, and Edward VII, who reigned⁶ from 1901, were kings-in-waiting for longer, spending 58 and 59 years respectively as heirs to the throne.

Celebrations to mark Charles's birthday included a comedy gala in a theater in the southwestern London, featuring John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and Robin⁷ Williams, as well as a concert and banquet at Buckingham Palace.

For the official birthday portrait, Charles wore the ceremonial uniform of the Welsh Guards, minus the headdress. He has been Colonel of the Welsh Guards since 1975.

英国王储、威尔士亲王查尔斯于上周五迎来了他的60岁生日，当天他收到的最有意义的生日礼物应该就是他的民众支持率有所上升。

一项有关王位继承人的民调显示，目前查尔斯王储的民众支持率超过了他的大儿子威廉王子。查尔斯是目前英国历史上“任期”最长的王储之一。

这项由YouGov机构开展的民调显示，42%的受访者希望查尔斯王储能成为女王伊拉莎白二世的下任王位继承人，35%的人认为王位应该由目前的第二王位继承人、查尔斯的长子威廉王子继承。

而2005年的一项相同的民调显示，查尔斯的民众支持率仅为31%，而威廉王子的支持率为45%。

多年来，一直有人建议查尔斯应放弃王位继承权，有些人认为他与戴安娜王妃离婚、之后又再婚的行为与其英国国教最高领袖的身份不符。

现任女王伊拉莎白二世继承王位时，查尔斯年仅三岁，当时身为长子的他便成了王位继承人。现年82岁的女王伊拉莎白二世是英国历史上最年长的君主，而且目前她的身体状况还很好。女王母亲的寿命长达101岁。

英国历史上比目前查尔斯王储“待岗” 时间还要长的两位君主是1820年继位的乔治四世和1901年继位的爱德华七世，他们分别等待了58年和59年之久。

为了给查尔斯王储庆生，伦敦西南部的一家剧院举办了一场喜剧演出，出席演出的明星包括约翰•克里斯，（憨豆先生）罗恩•阿特金森和罗宾•威廉姆斯；此外，白金汉宫还举办了盛大的生日音乐会和晚宴。

在生日肖像照中，查尔斯身着威尔士禁卫军制服，未戴头饰。查尔斯于1975年开始担任威尔士禁卫军陆军上校。