In 2012, as a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers, Charles was commissioned to make a Diamond Jubilee fan for Her Majesty The Queen. Charles is a self-taught painter fascinated by the natural world, by English landscapes and the rain forests of South and Central America. "I have been on expeditions to Malaysia, North Borneo, Java, Indonesia, Panama, Dominica, and Belize," says Charles. "My paintings can now be found in collections worldwide."