Sean Coughlan,Royal correspondent and
Eleri Griffiths,Cyfarthfa Castle
Millie Pilkington/ Buckingham Palace
A new photograph of King Charles marking his 77th birthday has been issued by Buckingham Palace.
The picture, taken by Millie Pilkington, shows the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk, holding a shepherd’s crook.
It was published on social media with a balloon emoji and the message: “77 today! Thank you for the kind words and well wishes on His Majesty’s Birthday.”
King Charles is spending his birthday in South Wales accompanied by Queen Camilla, where their engagements will include meeting Ruth Jones, star of the BBC’s Gavin and Stacey.
PA Media
It’s a wet and windy day in South Wales as crowds come to see the King
It’s not known if the King would agree that celebrating his birthday with the actress who played Nessa was “tidy”.
There will be a reception at Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil, which is celebrating its own 200th anniversary, with plans for a birthday cake for the King.
The King is meeting TikToker Lewis Leigh at the castle, whose parents Neil and Kerry Anne from Merthyr Tydfil said they were feeling “really proud” of their son.
“We are so proud that he will be recognised for some of the hard work he’s done with cancer awareness and school visits,” said Neil.
EPA
There was a gun salute in Green Park for the King’s birthday
Andrew Lewis, head teacher at Gwaunfarren Primary School said pupils were “super excited” to see the visit.
“We broke the news at the start of the week. It’s a once in a lifetime experience for our children.”
Noah, aged 10, said about the King’s visit: “I think he’ll like the castle, it’s really big and it has loads of stuff inside.”
MILLIE PILKINGTON/ PA MEDIA
The King also appeared in pictures for this week’s Country Life magazine
It’s wet and windy in South Wales with the arrival of Storm Claudia, with crowds at the castle sheltering under umbrellas.
It’s been a stormy few weeks for the royals too, with the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s title and his status as prince, over links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal has cast a shadow over what otherwise has been a busy autumn schedule for the King, with the state visit by US President Donald Trump, the King’s historic meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican and this week’s annual Remembrance events.
The trip to South Wales is a sign of the King’s determination to keep working, even though he is still receiving regular cancer treatment.
Although this is only the third year of his reign, Charles at the age of 77 is now in fifth place in the longest-lived British monarchs.
He recently overtook George II, who in 1760 died a few days short of his 77th birthday.
The longest living monarchs were Elizabeth II, Victoria, George III and Edward VIII – who abdicated in 1936.
