King Charles III Turns 74, Celebrates First Birthday As Reigning Monarch

Nov 14, 2022 by apost team

The last few years have been momentous for the British monarchy, culminating in the tragic passing of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022, at Balmoral. It was a devastating day for the royal family as many members gathered to be by her side in her final moments. 

That same day, Elizabeth’s eldest son, King Charles III, ascended the throne. And just one day later, he addressed the UK as its new monarch. Since then, and particularly since a video of the new king ordering an aide to remove items from his desk emerged, reports of his lavish demands and eccentric habits — from peculiar food preparation to one specific brand of toilet paper — have surfaced.

It comes as no surprise that the boy born to be king would reportedly garner the nickname the “pampered prince” in his early years. Almost a year to the day after the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s wedding on Nov. 20, 1947, the future queen gave birth to her eldest son King Charles III on Nov. 14, 1948. Charles was born in the Buhl Room of Buckingham Palace via cesarean section when Elizabeth was still a princess.

King Charles broke with tradition several times in his youth, attending school instead of being privately tutored, as was the norm for the royal family at the time. He also became the first royal to earn a university degree at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read archaeology and anthropology. He later joined the Royal Air Force before becoming the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in July 1958. His investiture took place on July 1, 1969, when he was crowned by his mother in Caernarfon, Wales.

And now, the king is celebrating his 74th birthday.

Queen Elizabeth II gave birth to her eldest son King Charles III on Nov. 14, 1948. Prince Philip was not present as his wife was in labor for 30 hours, and to quell his nerves, he decided to play a game of squash with his private secretary. The Daily Mail reported that when the prince finally received news of a successful delivery, he bounded to the room, which had been converted into an operating theater, still in his sporting flannels and open-neck shirt before declaring the child looked like a plum pudding.

Once older, Charles was known as the Prince of Wales, a title now held by his eldest son, Prince William. Charles and the late Princess Diana also welcomed another son together, Prince Harry. The couple had issues throughout their marriage, resulting in divorce about a year before the princess died due to a tragic car accident in 1997. In 2005, Charles married Camilla, who is now known as the Queen Consort.

Although Charles’ personal life has been a hot topic for decades now, His Royal Highness has worked hard at putting his name in good light. He is reported to be a patron or president of several non-profit organizations. Charles also has a strong interest in important topics such as the built environment, global sustainability, youth opportunities and education.

And now, the world knows him as King Charles III. Since the royal palace announced that his coronation will take place on May 6, 2023, speculation on how the ceremony will proceed has gone into overdrive.

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Buckingham Palace’s assurance that the ceremony would be “rooted in longstanding traditions” but will also “reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future,” has intensified talk that Charles will make some substantial changes to better reflect a modern monarchy.

Among the most considerable changes will be the guest list. According to Mail Online, unlike Elizabeth’s 8,000-strong guest list, Charles will likely cut this down to about 2,000 guests and dignitaries.

Another tradition set to be axed is the presentation of gold — such as “an ingot or wedge of gold of a pound weight” — to the monarch. A source told the publication, “In an age where people are feeling the pinch, this is not going to happen.”

Before Charles has his coronation, though, he has another exciting event happening first — his birthday! The king turns 74 on Nov. 14, 2022. It's still unclear how Charles will be celebrating his birthday this year. But as always, it is expected that other royals will publicly wish King Charles a happy birthday via social media.

Some people have wondered if he will take on his late mother’s tradition and have two birthdays. Elizabeth celebrated her birthday on April 21 of each year, as it was her real birthday, and also on the second Saturday of June. 

According to BBC’s Newsround, the queen’s great-grandfather, Edward VII, started the tradition. He was born in November but wanted to celebrate his birthday with a big public gathering in nicer weather, so he chose summertime for this. Since Charles was also born in November, it will be interesting to see if he follows suit!

For now, we wish King Charles III a very happy birthday!

What do you think about the royal family’s celebrations? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family, friends and any royal family fans you know!