Prince William and Kate post Elton John photo as Charles turns 78
The royal couple shared a photo from Elton John's Rocket Hour session, which marked 50 years of the King's Trust.
Prince William and Princess Kate sent King Charles birthday wishes on their joint Instagram account Saturday, sharing a photo of the King with Sir Elton John.
“Wishing a very Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King!” the Prince and Princess of Wales wrote.
The picture came from a recording session last month for an hour-long special of John’s Apple Music radio show, Rocket Hour, at the new Apple Music Studios at Battersea Power Station in London. The session was kept secret, and the program was intended to connect music with the work of the King’s Trust, which marks its 50th anniversary this year.
Charles turned 78 on Saturday, The Royal Observer reported. On the program, Charles and John talked about music’s power and musicians who had backed the charity during the past 50 years, according to the outlet.
“We and the Trust are definitely still standing,” Charles joked during last month’s recording, according to The Royal Observer.
“I’m still sitting now, though,” John replied.
“With occasional bits dropping off here and there. I know this is a terrible problem as we get older,” Charles said.
“HELLO!” reported that Charles was spending Saturday celebrating privately and that the episode would air that evening. A Royal Family Instagram post cited by Jang gave another time, telling listeners to “Tune in to a special edition of @EltonJohn’s Rocket Hour to celebrate 50 years of @KingsTrust, from 9am GMT today on @AppleMusic.”
Gun salutes mark Charles’s actual birthday publicly in London, with 41 in Green Park and 62 at the Tower of London. The bells of Westminster Abbey ring for his birthday, too.
William and Kate also posted a birthday tribute last year, when Charles turned 77, People reported via AOL. They shared a newly released picture of him in the gardens of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.
Their earlier messages used similar wording. On Nov. 14, 2022, their @KensingtonRoyal account on X posted “Wishing a very happy birthday to His Majesty The King!”.
Wishing a very happy birthday to His Majesty The King!
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) November 14, 2022
Charles has an official birthday celebration in June, when London weather is more reliable than in mid-November. The custom of marking a birthday twice dates to the 18th century, when King George II wanted to protect his public celebrations from bad weather.
The June celebration, Trooping the Colour, is a military parade with more than 1,400 soldiers and 200 horses. The royal family gathers on the Buckingham Palace balcony at its end to watch a Royal Air Force flypast.
