The Prince of Wales spent part of his birthday celebrating with seventy other men and women who all turn seventy this year. Charles, along with the Duchess of Cornwall, attended a party in London organised by The Sun which invited along readers born in the same year as the prince and who have made a real difference in their local communities.
Photo by Chris Jackson/Clarence House via Getty Images
This gathering of the ”1948 club” was the brainchild of the newspaper’s famous royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, who began organising the event after Prince Charles told him he loved the idea of spending his big day with others reaching the same milestone. Arthur Edwards and his colleagues at The Sun then set about finding seventy people who have helped others to join the royal birthday boy at his celebrations.
The result was a tea party at Spencer House in London where Charles and Camilla had a good chat with those who are also enjoying turning 70 this year. The prince was also presented with a cake and a balloon. And as he spoke to reporters on the way out of the celebrations, he couldn’t help sneaking a peek at the present he had been given to mark his birthday.
There were other celebrations taking place in the capital on Charles’ big day. The bells of Westminster Abbey rang out to mark his 70th while the band of the Welsh Guards played ”Happy Birthday” outside Buckingham Palace, sharing a video on Twitter with a message thanking the prince for his ”ceaseless support” to British Army personnel and their families.” Meanwhile, the King’s Troop fired a 41 gun salute for the birthday of the heir to the throne.
The Prince of Wales later joined his family and royalty from across Europe at a special celebration at Buckingham Palace, hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for their first born son. The guest list included the King and Queen of Norway, the King and Queen of the Belgians, Queen Sofia of Spain, Prince Albert II of Monaco and the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark. The guests heard Elizabeth II pay tribute to the prince in a moving speech in which she praised him as ”a dedicated and respected heir to the throne, to stand comparison with any in history, and a wonderful father”.
Charles thanked the thousands who had sent him birthday wishes in a short message on the official Clarence House social media accounts which also featured a new image of the prince.
