King Charles celebrates his 76th birthday today – and to mark the special day, the Prince and Princess of Wales have taken to social media to share a series of heartwarming photos of the monarch

The Prince and Princess of Wales have marked King Charles ‘ birthday – by sharing a fun photo of the monarch.

William and Kate took to their social media accounts this morning to send their birthday wishes to His Majesty, with a photo of William’s father taken in Samoa last month. It shows the King wearing a trendy pair of sunglasses and smiling with a garland around his neck. It was shared with the message: “Wishing a very Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King!”

Charles turns 76 today in what has been a turbulent year that has seen him diagnosed with cancer, for which he is still receiving treatment.

And royal fans eacted to the fun snap praising William and Kate’s choice of photo to celebrate the day. One wrote on X: “Love the Daddy Cool photo, nice choice.” Another commented: “What a lovely picture”, while another said: “Fantastic photo and fabulous celebration! Happy Birthday to YOU, King Charles.”

Wishing a very Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King! pic.twitter.com/blN48K7490

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) November 14, 2024

News of Charles’ cancer diagnosis earlier this year came just weeks before Kate also revealed she had also being diagnosed with cancer following major abdominal surgery earlier this year.

The pair are said to have strengthened their bond over their shared health challenges, with Charles being among a visitor of Kate’s when she was a in-patient at the London Clinic in January following her surgery. The Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers explained: “They are very close and he thinks of Catherine as his daughter. There is no doubt there is a lot they can share and can use each other for support during their own deeply personal cancer battles.”

The Waleses’ tribute to the monarch comes as he prepares to mark his big day by opening two hubs designed to save and circulate tonnes of surplus food. The opening of the distribution centres will also mark the first anniversary of the Coronation Food Project, an initiative to support charities feeding the nation with unwanted food.

The hub the King is visiting will host a “surplus food festival”, with meals created from food which would otherwise have gone to waste. Charles will tour the new facility, meeting beneficiaries and representatives of food banks, schools and community groups.

The Coronation Food Project is investing in a network of hubs, adding scale and capacity to warehouses, boosting cold storage facilities and funding lorries, vans and drivers to boost their distribution capacity. A newly installed industrial freezer, which Charles will view during the visit, will increase capacity by 400 per cent, improving the charity’s ability to preserve more surplus food.

The King was born Philip Arthur George on November 14 1948 at Buckingham Palace to the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. After his birth – the first at the royal residence since 1886 – his father the late Duke of Edinburgh drove to Caxton Hall to register the event.

He became King following the death of his mother on September 8, 2022. In January of this year, it was revealed he had been diagnosed with enlarged prostate and underwent a procedure in hospital. Several weeks later it was announced he had been diagnosed with cancer.

The King has now undergone several months of treatment and last month, it was revealed that royal doctors have green-lit the King’s return to a full programme of events next year, including two major overseas tours.

Charles is fully behind plans for high-profile tours in the spring and autumn, with Canada one possible destination. At times, the King, 75, looked weary during his nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa with the Queen in October. He reduced his usual duties over the summer to rest ahead of his trip Down Under. A Palace official said: “We’re now working on a pretty normal-looking, full overseas tour programme for next year, which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms.”

Australians came out in their hundreds to greet the royals throughout the tour, culminating in a crowd of 10,000 outside the Sydney Opera House on their last day in the country. The palace official said: “It is hard to overstate the joy that the King takes from duty and service, being in public and seeing those crowds.

“The idea of these tours always is to leave a trace behind, and that was why the King was very keen that those legacy projects should be launched while we were here. He has genuinely loved this tour. It has lifted his spirits, his mood and his recovery. In that sense, the tour –despite its demands – has been the perfect tonic.”