King Charles turned 74 years old on Monday. Among the many gifts he received was the privilege of taking over as Windsor’s new Ranger.
His children’s and grandchildren’s gifts have not yet been made public. According to reports, William and Kate and the Royal Palace congratulated the monarch on his birthday, but it’s unclear if Harry and Meghan did the same.
Members of the Royal Family have a history of communicating with one another in an open and public manner. They do this, in fact, frequently on social media.
But perhaps tellingly this year, it appears as though Harry and Meghan’s relationship with Charles has developed to the point where wishing him a “happy birthday” is now too much to ask.
Monday was King Charles’ first birthday as king, and he turned 74. According to reports, kept the celebrations private and had no scheduled public commitments for the day.
Naturally, a few public birthday parties were still planned. Gun salutes were fired throughout London in honour of Charles’ birthday, and the Band of the Household Cavalry played Happy Birthday during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. 41 shots are fired at Green Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
Additionally, on his 74th birthday, King Charles received an honorary new position (as he needed more of those).
The Palace made the official announcement that His Majesty had been appointed Windsor Great Park’s park ranger via its social media outlets. The Deputy Ranger and his team receive oversight and direction from the Ranger of The Great Park, according to the Palace, as they manage one of the nation’s oldest estates on a daily basis.
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was appointed a park ranger in 1947. He was the longest-serving Ranger in history, holding the post from 1952 until his death in 2021.
The development of The Savill Garden Visitor Center and Virginia Water Pavilion, as well as the reintroduction of Red Deer into the Deer Park in 1979, were overseen by His Royal Highness, the Palace stated on Instagram alongside a photo of Charles leaning against an old oak tree in Windsor Great Park.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Henry Neville was chosen to serve as the first park ranger in 1559. Since then, the king or a member of their family, like King Charles’ father or grandfather, has held the position.
Paul Sedgwick, managing director of The Crown Estate’s rural division and deputy ranger of Windsor Great Park, stated that it was an honour to have His Majesty serve in this capacity. He is carrying on a long tradition of the Sovereign and members of the Royal Family holding this position.
“There are numerous priceless natural ecosystems in Windsor, which has a tremendous heritage.”
This week, King Charles celebrated his first birthday as a monarch; however, he won’t have to wait another year to do so. Makes sense? Actually, it kind of is.
According to royal custom, the current monarch also celebrates a second birthday. Historically, June has been a popular month to honour this. Charles’ second birthday will not be observed this year, according to custom, according to Buckingham Palace.
The Queen’s Birthday Parade, also known as the Trooping of the Color, has celebrated the British monarch’s official birthday for more than 260 years. Each year, 400 musicians, 200 horses, and over 2,000 soldiers congregate for the national holiday. Although she was born in February, Queen Elizabeth’s birthday was always celebrated on a Saturday in mid-June.
King Charles received heartfelt congratulations from his family on his birthday, just like any other family. The first members of the Royal Family to wish him a happy birthday on his 74th birthday, Prince William and Kate Middleton posted a special message on their social media accounts.
The couple’s image was captioned, “Wishing His Majesty The King a very happy birthday today.” When King Charles visited Yorkshire last week, they exchanged a welcome and a picture of him grinning.
Using a photo of a smiling Charles, Buckingham Palace also wished His Majesty a happy birthday. A behind-the-scenes look at the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery firing the birthday cannons in Green Park and the Household Cavalry Band performing Happy Birthday at Buckingham Palace were also posted by the Palace.
Some members of the Royal Family, however, chose not to exchange greetings. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were two who chose not to post anything on their Instagram pages. In January of last year, the Sussexes famously deleted their Twitter and Facebook accounts, citing the amount of online “hatred” they had been subjected to.
In fact, they haven’t published anything to their 9.5 million-follower Sussex Royal Instagram account since January 2020.
Additionally, Harry and Meghan made the decision not to post a congratulations to Charles on their Archewell website. Although we don’t know if they spoke to King Charles privately for his birthday, it was updated last Sunday.