What Charles' low-key birthday celebrations reveal about his priorities as King

18 November 2023 , 15:24

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Charles and Camilla on his birthday (Image: Zak Hussein / SplashNews.com)

King Charles followed in the footsteps of the late Queen with a low key birthday showing his priorities as monarch.

Charles has made it clear that his focus is on public service and it continued with his 75th birthday which he insisted would be a “normal working day”. He visited the South Oxford Food and Education Alliance (SOFEA), part of the Fareshare network, in Didcot, Oxfordshire.

Accompanied by Camilla dressed in a green coat and black cape, he was shown around the SOFEA warehouse and offices before being treated to a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday as he celebrated three-quarters of a century by unveiling a new food waste initiative.

Charles insisted his birthday be a "normal working day" (Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock)

The red-faced monarch remarked "Oh gracious!" as Baroness Louise Casey, who is helping to create his Coronation Food Project, asked whether he minded if guests serenade him. The King looked bashful as everyone joined in - including his wife who also clapped loudly at the end. "We are beyond delighted about it. It is such an honour for us and support for the project just wouldn't have happened without you. We are incredibly grateful to you," Baroness Casey added.

The Coronation Food Project was inspired and devised by the King who has long been concerned about waste, particularly when it comes to food and the cost of living crisis. More than 12 million tonnes of food is wasted each year in the UK alone. The project will work with - and crucially raise funds for - existing food waste projects around the country to save and circulate more surplus food and use it for social good.

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It will help scale up nationwide projects and build warehouses, as well as buy fridges, freezers and refrigerated lorries. The project is being led by Baroness Casey and Dame Martina Milburn and co-ordinated by the King Charles III Charitable Fund.

Charles talked about the Coronation Food Project in the Big Issue where he was pictured on the front cover. He stated: “Food need is as real and urgent a problem as food waste – and if a way could be found to bridge the gap between them, then it would address two problems in one.

“It is my great hope that this Coronation Food Project will find practical ways to do just that – rescuing more surplus food, and distributing it to those who need it most.”

Tim Hanlon