King Charles marks 76th birthday at ‘surplus food festival’
King Charles III has marked his 76th birthday on Thursday by opening two food distribution hubs, as part of his Coronation Food Project that he launched a year ago in the hopes of bridging the gap between food poverty and food waste.
Charles visited one of the new hubs in south London, which is hosting a “surplus food festival” where meals will be made using food that might otherwise have gone to waste.
He was due to open the second Coronation Food Hub in Merseyside in northwest England, in a virtual ceremony.
King Charles III arrives to inaugurate the Coronation Food Project hub, located at the Deptford Trading Estate, in South East London, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, to celebrate his 76th birthday and the first anniversary of the Coronation Food Project. (Justin Tallis/Pool Photo via AP)
During the visit, the King was joined by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to tour the new facility before meeting beneficiaries and representatives of food banks, schools and community groups.
In addition to investing in a network of hubs, the King’s Coronation Food Project is also adding capacity to warehouses, boosting cold storage facilities and funding transport and drivers to bolster distribution capacity.
To date, £15 million ($29.4 million) has been raised to design, build and run a network of up to 10 hubs across the United Kingdom.
King Charles III shakes hands with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as he departs after a visit to the first Coronation Food Hub in Deptford Trading Estate on November 14, 2024 in London, England (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)King Charles III, centre, shakes hands with food suppliers for the Coronation Food Project as he visits the Coronation Food Project hub, located at the Deptford Trading Estate, in South East London, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on his 76th birthday and the first anniversary of the Coronation Food Project. (Justin Tallis/Pool Photo via AP)
Since it was launched, the food project has worked with local charities FareShare and the Felix Project, and saved 853 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent of 2.2 million meals. It has also given £715,000 ($1.4 million) in community food grants to 33 UK organisations.
Buckingham Palace also released a new photograph of the King in honour of his big day.
In the snap shared on the Royal Family’s official X account, the monarch is smiling at the camera in a sharp blue suit, white shirt and blue patterned tie and pocket square.
King Charles III (C) speaks as he is live broadcasted to virtually open a Coronation Food Project hub, located at the Deptford Trading Estate during the centre inauguration on November 14, 2024 in southeastern, London, England. (Justin Tallis – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The caption alongside the post reads, “Wishing His Majesty The King a very Happy Birthday today”.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also offered their best wishes in a post on social media, writing, “Wishing a very Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King!”
The message was accompanied by a photograph of Charles taken during his recent overseas tour to Samoa on his first visit as head of the Commonwealth.
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41 Gun Royal Salute in celebration of the 76th birthday of Britain’s King Charles III, in Green Park in London, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The military’s traditional celebrations for the sovereign’s birthday means that 41-gun royal salute was fired in Green Park by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.
Meanwhile, the bells of Westminster Abbey were rung at 1pm (midnight AEDT).
King Charles treats his actual birthday in November like a normal working day, but the bonus of being the monarch means that he actually gets two.
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The tradition is believed to have started with the party-mad King George II in 1748. He was, like Charles, was born in November when British weather is often far from ideal.
The sovereign’s “official” birthday is held during the warmer summer months when the Trooping the Colour military spectacles sees 1400 officers and soldiers process through the streets of London from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guard’s Parade, while crowds line the route.
Trooping the Colour had previously existed as a standalone event but was officially and permanently re-purposed as a birthday celebration after George III became King in 1760.
