Director of the Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies (Madrid) since 2012, and Professor of Spanish Contemporary History at CEU San Pablo University (Madrid) since 2001.

Charles holds a BA in History and Modern Languages from Oxford University, where he also obtained a D. Phil for a thesis on Spain’s transition to democracy.

Prior to settling in Spain in 1997, he was Lecturer in History at Corpus Christi College (Oxford), J. A. Pye Fellow at University College (Oxford), and Junior Research Fellow at St. Antony’s College (Oxford). He is the author of six books and numerous articles on Spanish history, politics and foreign policy, and has lectured in over thirty countries. Additionally, he has supervised eight doctoral theses, both in Britain and Spain.