Following a busy overseas tour and his first State Opening of Parliament, King Charles is preparing to celebrate his 75th birthday next week.
The King will host a party at Highgrove, his home in Gloucestershire, on Monday after a weekend of commemorative events to mark Remembrance. A number of activities have been planned to celebrate the milestone on Tuesday, including the launch of the Coronation Food Project and a reception in honor of National Health Service’s 75th anniversary.
On Tuesday evening, there will be a private birthday party at Clarence House, where sources close to Charles say the guest list is “limited” to immediate family and close friends. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be in attendance as a spokesperson for Archewell recently told People that “there has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday.”
On Monday, Charles will join other 75-year-olds for a tea party in Highgrove’s Orchard Room overlooking the gardens, during which nominated guests and “community champions” will enjoy live music. As for who has been invited, the palace has said attendees are local residents who have been nominated by friends, family and neighbors, with the final guestlist being chosen by ballot.
The celebration will also mark other 75th anniversaries taking place this year, including Windrush 75 and the NHS’s 75th anniversary. A similar birthday party will be held for the local community at Dumfries House, ahead of Charles’s birthday on Tuesday.
Charles’s birthday will also see the launch of the Coronation Food Project which aims to eliminate food waste, something he is passionate about. King Charles and Queen Camila will visit a surplus food distribution center outside London and will speak to staff and volunteers of some of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains about how to distribute the national food surplus. The new legacy project, which will span five years, is one of the King’s ideas to combat the cost of living crisis and reduce waste.
Charles will also use his birthday to announce that the Prince’s Trust, the charity he founded with his Navy severance in 1976, will now become The King’s Trust. Buckingham Palace announced during the period of Charles’ accession that the Trust would evolve and the new branding will avoid any confusion with Prince William’s Royal Foundation.
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