Tea dance, reception at Buckingham Palace, dinner with loved ones: the programme for the 75th birthday of Charles III

Europe 1 // Photo credits: WPA POOL / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / Getty Images via AFP 15:31 p.m. on November 14, 2023

Cannons fired in London on Tuesday celebrated the 75th birthday of King Charles III, who shows no sign of slowing down and is very present in public on causes that are dear to him such as the environment. The sovereign, who likes to give the image of a hard worker, marks his three-quarters of a century with a busy agenda, like his first year on the throne marked by official visits to Germany, France and Kenya, as well as his coronation last May.

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Several official engagements on the agenda

The festivities kicked off on Monday with an afternoon tea dance with giant cake in the gardens of Highgrove, in the west of England, where he has set up an organic farm, with locals drawn at random from among all those who, like him, were born in 1948. At midday, 41 cannon shots were fired near Buckingham Palace, before another 62-gun salute an hour later from the Tower of London. For the rest of the official ceremonies, we will have to wait until next June, as is the tradition for British sovereigns, with the parade of the "Salute to the Colours" organized in a season more conducive to outdoor activities.

The sovereign also has several official engagements on the agenda. He is due to visit a food aid distribution centre with Queen Camilla to launch a charity project to fight waste and hunger. The king, who acceded to the throne in September 2022 upon the death of his mother Elizabeth II, appears this week on the cover of the homeless magazine "Big Issue" to defend the initiative.

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In the afternoon, a reception is planned at Buckingham Palace with 400 nurses and midwives invited to mark the 75th anniversary of the public health service, the NHS, an institution cherished by the British, but in the midst of a crisis. The day is set to end with a private dinner with his loved ones, once again without his youngest son Harry, in exile in California with his wife Meghan and their two children. The 39-year-old duke, who has had harsh words for his father and older brother William in recent months, was due to send his greetings to the king by phone, according to the BBC.