Bells and cannon shots greeted Thursday in London the 76th birthday of King Charles III, still being treated for cancer after a year which, according to his son Prince William, was “the hardest of (his) life”.
As is tradition, 41 artillery salvos were fired from Green Park at midday before bells tolled at Westminster Abbey and more cannon shots rang out from the Tower of London. .
The king, still very active, inaugurated for his birthday a center for redistributing surplus food in the south of the British capital as part of a “Coronation food project” implemented for his 75th birthday, which allowed since saving tons of food.
He also received, on social networks, the wishes of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his son William and his daughter-in-law Kate, who had chosen for the occasion a photo of the king relaxed, with sunglasses and a garland of flowers around the neck.
Charles III resumed his commitments at the end of April, two and a half months after the announcement of his cancer, the nature of which was never specified.
A difficult year
“The problem is trying to stop it,” Queen Camilla confided several times.
In October, the couple resumed their overseas travels, with an 11-day trip to Australia and Samoa for the Commonwealth summit. The king came back “reinvigorated”, said his entourage.
He plans to resume a “normal rhythm” of trips abroad next year, a source at the palace said.
Cancer has not dampened his determination to “serve the time I have left to live”, as he declared when he became king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8, 2022, after having prepared for this role for over 70 years.
On Sunday, Charles III presided, pensive in the cold London, over the ceremonies paying tribute to the dead of the wars since 1914, a highlight each year of the royal calendar.
The day before, he had gone with William and Kate, who recently finished chemotherapy, to the Royal Albert Hall for a memorial concert.
He hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday in honor of the British film and television industry, before attending the premiere of Gladiator II in the evening.
He also planned a trip to Devon (southwest) on Friday.
The year has been difficult for the royal family in many ways: communication remains broken with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Charles and William’s millions in income were recently the subject of an incriminating documentary and the issue of slavery reparations became more pressing at the Commonwealth summit.
After the announcement of the king’s cancer in February, the Princess of Wales, the most popular member of the royal family, announced in March that she was also suffering from cancer, again without further details.
Absent from COP29
The 42-year-old princess delighted her many fans by announcing the end of her chemotherapy on September 9, in a video posted on social networks.
She has since resumed commitments little by little.
“Honestly, it’s been terrible. It’s probably the hardest year of my life,” Prince William, the heir to the throne, said on November 7. “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the situation the way they did,” he confided during a stay in South Africa.
“But, from a family, personal point of view, it was brutal.”
Health remains a constant royal concern.
A doctor accompanied the king during his trip to Australia and Samoa.
On their return, the king and queen spent three days in a relaxation center in Bangalore, India, to “break up” their long journey.
A few days later, Camilla, 77, suspended her commitments due to a lung infection. She has just taken them back at a minimum.
And the king, a longtime environmentalist, did not travel to Baku in Azerbaijan for COP29.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
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