14 November 2024 , 11:04
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The monarch is marking the occasion with a visit to a surplus food festival in Deptford, south London.
A new picture of the King has been released as he celebrates his 76th birthday.
The photograph shows the monarch wearing a smart suit, white shirt and blue pattern tie, with one hand in his pocket as he rests the other on a chair.
The image was shared on the Royal Family’s official X account with a birthday cake emoji and the message: "Wishing His Majesty The King a very Happy Birthday today."
He was also wished a happy birthday by the Prince and Princess of Wales, who posted a message on their Instagram account with a picture of him on a recent tour to Australia and Samoa.
???? Wishing His Majesty The King a very Happy Birthday today. pic.twitter.com/Nq7npnaXqa
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 14, 2024
The King is treating his birthday as a normal working day 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.
He is marking the occasion with a visit to a surplus food festival in Deptford, south London.
The King 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.
It is a solo engagement for the King, with the Queen, who had hoped to join him, still recovering from a chest infection.
Gun salutes will be fired in Green Park and at the Tower of London as part of the military’s traditional celebrations, while bells will be rung at Westminster Abbey, where the King was crowned last year.
The King, like his late mother Elizabeth II, celebrates two birthdays - 14 November is his actual one, while his official one falls on the second Saturday in June.
On Wednesday night he walked the red carpet at the world premiere of Gladiator II, meeting stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.
King attends Gladiator II premiere
The King had earlier hosted a special celebrity reception at Buckingham Palace in honour of the UK’s film and television industry.
He and Camilla, who was present for part of the event, talked with stars including actors Damian Lewis, Emily Mortimer and Lucien Laviscount, as well as Gladiator director Sir Ridley Scott.
The King returned to face-to-face public duties in April after news of his cancer, undisclosed in its form, came in February following hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate the month before.
He has since travelled to France for D-Day commemorations, hosted an incoming state visit for the Emperor of Japan, and undertaken the Australia and Samoa tour with the Queen, despite still undergoing outpatient cancer treatment.