King Charles celebrates 77th birthday today and here’s 13 of his best pictures
King Charles is celebrating his 77th birthday today, and the Express takes a look at some of his most powerful moments.
King Charles is celebrating his 77th birthday today after a hectic few weeks for the Royal Family. The King was born on this day, November 14, in 1948, but his birthday is celebrated twice per year. Once on his actual birthday and once during Trooping the Colour, in the summer.
Charles will be spending the day today in his signature style – serving the country. The King and Queen will be marking the special day by travelling to South Wales for a series of engagements with the local community
Here, the Express takes a look at 13 of King Charles’s best moments of his reign as the nation celebrates its sovereign.
The monarch was born Charles Philip Arthur George on November 14, 1948. The eldest child of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, he’s made history as Britain’s longest-serving heir to the throne and Prince of Wales. He ascended to the throne on September 8, 2022, after his mother’s passing. Following her death, he released a statement saying: “The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved mother.”
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Charles was formally presented to the people of Wales as their Prince on July 1, 1969. The investiture ceremony took place at Caernarfon Castle when the monarch was just 20 years old. It was watched by around 500 million people worldwide on television. The King became Prince of Wales when he was just nine years old, in 1958, by letters patent issued by the late Queen Elizabeth. The King’s son, Prince William, who became Prince of Wales in 2022 upon his father’s ascension to the throne, has no plans for a public investiture ceremony.
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The King was married twice in his lifetime. His first wedding took place in 1981, when he married the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The couple divorced in 1996, with Diana dying a year later during a car crash in Paris. Charles married Camilla eight years later, in 2005, during a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. Charles and Camilla’s relationship has been labelled by many as the most scandalous in British royal history. What started as an innocent relationship after a meeting in 1970, when then-Prince Charles met the then Camilla Shand, became one of the most documented royal affairs, with the now-Queen taking much of the blame for Charles and Diana’s divorce.
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The King has welcomed two sons and his only children from his first marriage with Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry. The now-Prince of Wales was born on June 21, 1982, and the Duke of Sussex was born on September 14, 1984. Charles’s relationship with William remains strong, while his relationship with his younger son has turned frosty after his bombshell royal exit in 2020. Despite this, the King recently met up with Harry during the duke’s last trip to the UK in September.
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In his first speech as monarch following Elizabeth’s death, Charles moved the nation as he pledged himself to the task before him and the “heavy responsibilities of sovereignty”. He said: “I know how deeply you, the entire nation – and I think I may say the whole world – sympathise with me in the irreparable loss we have all suffered. It is the greatest consolation to me to know of the sympathy expressed by so many to my sister and brothers and that such overwhelming affection and support should be extended to our whole family in our loss. To all of us as a family, as to this kingdom and the wider family of nations of which it is a part, my mother gave an example of lifelong love and of selfless service.”
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In December 2022, Charles delivered his first Christmas broadcast. In it, he paid tribute to his late mother, while thanking the nation for their “love and sympathy” in the months following the late Queen’s death. He praised his eldest son and his wife, the Prince and Princess of Wales, for their work, as well as Queen Camilla. Charles reflected on how he was standing “so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father” in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. He also thanked the public for the “love and sympathy” after thousands of people sent cards and messages of condolence.
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King Charles’s Coronation took place the next year in May, when he was crowned monarch during a spectacular ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Charles’s wife, Queen Camilla, was also crowned in a joint ceremony for the royal couple. The King’s Coronation marked the official start of his reign and took place 70 years after Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1952. The ceremony, which took place in front of 2,000 attending guests, was also watched by millions across the globe.
In February 2024, Charles announced that he had been diagnosed with a type of cancer. The shocking news came after the monarch was admitted to hospital to undergo an enlarged prostate operation in January; however, it was stressed by sources that the cancer was not linked to his surgery. At the time, a Buckingham Palace statement read: “During the King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.”
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After a short break to undergo cancer treatment, the monarch was back to public-facing duties in the spring of 2024, while he also undertook several engagements in the summer, like Royal Ascot and a number of garden parties. Royal sources at the time disclosed that the King felt “incredibly positive” about the future and was “keen to get back to work” as he wanted to “make up for the lost time”.
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The King headed to Australia and Samoa for nine days last month in what was his first royal tour in the area as monarch. The visit was praised by many royal watchers and described as a success. Meanwhile, a source close to Their Majesties said that the couple were “overwhelmed” by their reception in Sydney. Following the completion of the tour, the King and Queen said in a statement: “As our visits to Australia and Samoa come to a close, my wife and I would like to thank both nations for the warmest of welcomes and for the countless fond memories we will carry in our hearts for many years to come. Even when we are far apart in distance, the many close connections that unite us across the globe and through our Commonwealth family have been renewed, and will remain as profound as they are enduring.”
