Royal news live: King Charles celebrates milestone birthday as Palace unveils regal portrait and sweet tribute
A new portrait of the King was unveiled to mark the monarch’s 76th birthday
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Your support makes all the difference.The King has celebrated his 76th birthday by visiting a food distribution hub as part of his drive to support charities feeding the nation.
A smiling Charles appeared on good form as he arrived at the Deptford Trading Estate in south London for the engagement, without the Queen who is recovering from a chest infection.
Charles was opening the first Coronation Food Hub at the Deptford site, and a second one in Knowsley, Merseyside, virtually.
Volunteers from the Felix Project, who were dressed in the charity’s signature green, clapped and cheered the monarch and waved flags as he stepped from his Bentley.
The Royal Family wished the King a happy birthday, with the Prince and Princess of Wales sharing a candid photo of him in Samoa wearing sunglasses and a floral garland around his neck.
A congratulatory message with a more formal portrait of the King standing in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace was also unveiled online.
William and Kate’s account shared an image of Charles in the sunshine during his recent long-haul overseas trip to Samoa as he was opening The King’s Garden at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in Apia.
The message read: “Wishing a very Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King!”
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.
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