Long reign the King! King Charles III celebrated his 74th birthday on Monday, November 14, but this year’s birthday celebration is an extra special event being that it’s his first birthday as monarch.
After an emotional weekend honouring fallen British veterans at the annual Remembrance Day service at The Cenotaph on Sunday, per the BBC, the King has planned to take it easy on his birthday, requesting to opt-out of any official engagements for the day and looking to host an intimate gathering with other members of the Royal Family.
However, traditional birthday events have still taken place in Buckingham Palace. To start off, the Palace has released a new portrait of His Majesty, which also announced his new role as Ranger of Windsor Great Park.
In the shot, His Royal Highness is seen casually leaning on an oak tree, cane in one hand, and the warm sun peeking through the tree leaves.
“His Majesty The King has officially become Park Ranger of Windsor Great Park, seventy years after his father, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, was appointed to the post,” the caption read.
“The Ranger of The Great Park offers oversight and guidance to the Deputy Ranger and his team in the day-to-day stewardship of one of the country’s oldest estates.”
Later in the day, the band of the Household Cavalry kicked off public celebrations by performing a rendition of Happy Birthday during the changing of the Guard ceremony that took place at the Palace.
Across the capital, at Green Park, the sound of gunshots filled the air as the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute to honour the King.
Birthday greetings and well wishes dedicated to the King have also flooded social media. Charles’ firstborn son, Prince William, and daughter-in-law, Princess Catherine of Wales, also took to social media to share a sweet photo of the monarch and wished him a Happy Birthday.
Buckingham Palace has currently not made any announcement on whether Charles would follow the royal tradition of celebrating a second birthday in June, aka The Trooping of the Colour, but has confirmed that His Majesty’s coronation will be held on Saturday, May 6 2023, at Westminster Abbey.
However, unlike previous royal coronations, it is understood that Charles’ ceremony will scale back on the grandeur to “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future” but will still be “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.
At 74 years of age, Charles will leave his mark in history as the oldest a new monarch has been crowned in the UK.