Royal news - live: King Charles celebrates milestone birthday with passion project after Gladiator II premiere
Charles will open the first two Coronation Food Hubs on the first anniversary of the launch of his Coronation Food Project
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.King Charles is celebrating his 76th birthday, marking the occasion with a visit to a surplus food festival.
The King is treating the day as a normal working one and carrying on with his duties despite facing a personally challenging year in which both he and the Princess of Wales were diagnosed with cancer.
The monarch will open the first two Coronation Food Hubs on the first anniversary of the launch of his Coronation Food Project, designed to bridge the gap between food need and food waste in the UK amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Charles will attend the event solo, with the Queen, who had hoped to join him, still recovering from a chest infection.
Last night, the King, in black tie, walked the red carpet, meeting stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal at the glitzy global premiere of Gladiator II.
On Wednesday afternoon, he hosted a special celebrity reception at Buckingham Palace in honour of the UK’s film and television industry, where he and Camilla, who attended for part of the event, chatted with a host of famous faces including actors Damian Lewis, Emily Mortimer and Lucien Laviscount, and Gladiator director Sir Ridley Scott.
William to carry out duties with ‘smaller r in the royal’
The Prince of Wales has defined his role as heir to the throne, saying he wants to carry out his duties with a “smaller r in the royal”.
William spelled out his philosophy at the end of a major visit to South Africa where he mixed the informal with traditional elements of the monarchy, and said he was trying to do things “differently” and wanted to be a prince for his “generation”.
The future king said what mattered to him was “impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening, and helping people” and stressed “empathy” was also important “because I really care about what I do”.
He said he hoped to carry out overseas tours with the Princess of Wales, who this autumn returned to royal duties after completing a course of cancer treatment.
The hidden message in Kate’s Remembrance Sunday outfit
The Princess of Wales wore a traditionally sombre black outfit as she appeared at the Cenotaph war memorial for Remembrance Sunday.
Kate’s diamond and pearl drop earrings belonged to the late Queen and she wore her silver Queen’s Dragoon Guards brooch – in a nod to her role as the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief – beneath three red poppies.
Some have suggested that each poppy represents a different branch of the military, while others have said that a cluster of flowers is simply more visible than a single one.
Another theory speculates Kate wears the poppy trio to honour her great-grandmother’s three brothers, who died in the First World War.
Watch: King Charles and Prince William lay wreaths at Remembrance Day Cenotaph ceremony
Pictured: Royals pay tribute to war dead at Cenotaph
Emotional Kate reaches milestone in return to duty
An emotional Princess of Wales completed a milestone in her return to royal duties on Sunday, as she joined other members of the royal family at the Cenotaph.
The appearance marks the first time Kate has carried out commitments on two consecutive days since she was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the year.
Kate looked on at the Remembrance Sunday service as the King, who is still undergoing treatment for his own cancer diagnosis, led the nation in a two-minute silence to honour fallen servicemen and women.
Dressed in black as is the tradition, Kate wore a netted hat with her hair in a twisted chignon and a military-style coat featuring black epaulettes, which was embellished at the neck with a black velvet bow.
On the princess’s coat were three red poppies, often rumoured to be in honour of her great-grandmother’s three brothers, who all lost their lives in the First World War.
As the Queen was forced to stay at home after falling sick with a chest infection, Kate was instead joined by Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, as they oversaw the ceremony on the Foreign Office balcony.
Watch: Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch join Remembrance Sunday service
GB News condemned for going ‘off air’ with loud sustained beeping and adverts during Remembrance Day silence
TV channel GB News has faced criticism after seemingly going off air during the Remembrance Day two-minute silence.
Those watching GB News during the silence, which is held at 11am every Remembrance Sunday to honour members of the armed forces, were instead treated to an “off-air” test card, along with a sustained beeping sound.
After a minute of the test card appearing onscreen, and the accompanying beeping, the channel then went straight into advertisements.
Viewers criticised the incident on social media, with many noting the irony of it occurring on GB News, a right-leaning channel that has devoted significant airtime in recent weeks to the importance of Remembrance Day.
Read the full story here:
GB News condemned for going off air with loud beeping during two-minute silence
‘Shame on you and your disrespect,’ wrote one viewer
Watch: Princess of Wales attends Remembrance Day Cenotaph ceremony
The hidden message in Kate’s Remembrance Sunday outfit
The Princess of Wales wore a traditionally sombre black outfit as she appeared at the Cenotaph war memorial for Remembrance Sunday.
Kate’s diamond and pearl drop earrings belonged to the late Queen and she wore her silver Queen’s Dragoon Guards brooch – in a nod to her role as the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief – beneath three red poppies.
Some have suggested that each poppy represents a different branch of the military, while others have said that a cluster of flowers is simply more visible than a single one.
Another theory speculates Kate wears the poppy trio to honour her great-grandmother’s three brothers, who died in the First World War.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments