The Prince of Wales's 70th Birthday: November 14, 2018

[HereditaryPrincess]

I somehow missed these portraits - they’re fantastic! I love how natural they are. It’s great that we finally get to see Louis as an older baby too, I actually think he looks a lot like Edward VII though also his brother George and his father William more recently. George has grown up so much! He’s going to grow up to be a handsome little boy. Little Charlotte is adorable and cheeky looking as ever - she always looks like she’s plotting something [emoji3]
Charles seems like he’s really involved with his family and it’s great that he included them all in his birthday photos. A nice treat.

 

[DuchessMia]

Photos from Clarence House

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062465732175372289

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062465232650596352

Nice family photo.

 

[Somebody]

Pictures were ta,en on the same day as the one featuring i the earlier documentary (with Charles, Catherine and Louis).

 

[Erin9]

Lovely family photos.

 

[Osipi]

Great portraits that show one big happy family. I loved the one where they all seem to be laughing at something. Very relaxed. They got Charles to slow down enough to pose for portraits!! Amazing!

 

[Pranter]

Absolutely love the one where they are laughing...that one needs framed!



LaRae

 

[Osipi]

I just noticed something about the more "reserved" family portrait. Camilla is making a heart with her hands. Didn't notice it at first as I was too busy looking at the faces and missed the heart. Very nice addition to this photo.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062465232650596352

 

[Pranter]

I'm not sure if that was just how her hands were or intentional....seems kinda odd if it was intentional.



LaRae

 

[Missjersey]

Marvelous photos......my first thought was a full house, 3 kings and 2 queens

 

[Ista]

I just noticed something about the more "reserved" family portrait. Camilla is making a heart with her hands. Didn't notice it at first as I was too busy looking at the faces and missed the heart. Very nice addition to this photo.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062465232650596352

It's hard to tell if it's intentional or not; I'd love to think it is, but a lot of people, including myself, sometimes put their fingers together in exactly that way when the hands are at rest. Now, if she was making the mini-heart signs with her fingers, there wouldn't be any doubt!

 

[AdmirerUS]

I just noticed something about the more "reserved" family portrait. Camilla is making a heart with her hands. Didn't notice it at first as I was too busy looking at the faces and missed the heart. Very nice addition to this photo.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062465232650596352

She holds her hands like this - bowed with tips touching - a lot. Go scan Getty photos when she is at rest. I've noticed it in videos more than several times. It's not normally a heart - and I think that happened this time only because she was relaxed and her hands drooped into her lap.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Bertie, while I think that you are way more informed on Royal matters than I am, I wonder about the BRF's rare tiara events compared to the other Royal Families. I don't think it's about rubbing wealth into noses, as tiara-wearing is the least of BRF wealth-displaying. A single well-attended grouse shoot weekend at Balmoral costs as much as a tiara.


Also, smarter aristos, like the Westminsters, took steps to protect their assets, like the BRF. Other families may have done the same. Besides, pointing to the peers and others who have sold tiaras, like the Kents, will not exactly resonate with British wage earners. Selling off a tiara is not indicative of poverty.

A lot of them only took the steps to protect their assets after one or two generations had been hit with the death duties.

Even at the Queen's coronation in 1953 many aristocrats had to hire coronets and tiaras as they had had to sell them in the previous 40+ years after the introduction of the death duties legislation.

Even more have been sold since then.

The British public don't see the grouse shoot and don't see the cost. The cost for a tiara is a real sign of wealth while a few birds being shot isn't such a visible sign.

Tiara events were reduced massively with the backlash in the 90s when the popularity of the British monarchy was in the dumper and for some it has been hard to recover (Charles is back at about 48% approval at the moment - up from around 20%).

 

[Tarlita]

Re the Clarence House photos.
Well it is about time!!
We rarely get to see this family altogether in a nice relaxed way. Great photo's, hope to see them more often.
Prince George has lost his chubby little face. Maybe he is growing too fast.
Lovely to see little Louis too.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Camilla looks fantastic, Meghan looks wonderful,Kate looks like a school marm. Harry looks handsome as he always does with that beard.

 

[MsJulie]

I just noticed something about the more "reserved" family portrait. Camilla is making a heart with her hands. Didn't notice it at first as I was too busy looking at the faces and missed the heart. Very nice addition to this photo.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062465232650596352

I have noticed Camilla often has her hands in a heart shape. It may be she does this as a comfortable way for her to occupy her hands/fingers nicely in photos when she has no purse to carry.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I have noticed Camilla often has her hands in a heart shape. It may be she does this as a comfortable way for her to occupy her hands/fingers nicely in photos when she has no purse to carry.

The German Chancellor, Mrs Angela Merkel, also always hold her hands in that typical pose, alike Camilla.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Shame the photos got leaked before they were supposed to be out, the age of modern technology leaves us with no surprises!

They are still lovely, I wish there were more.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062326172091080704

Big thumbs down to the embargo-breakers for publishing Prince Charles's birthday portraits a day before his big day... ������ You might have wondered why no royal correspondents have tweeted them!

 

[cdm]

Only one solution: don’t release pictures before you want them to be published.

Do you think Camilla’s (grand)children joined them for private pictures of the complete family?

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Some facts:

Who will be at the birthday party? We may find out on the night itself.

If William and Kate don't attend (and I do expect them to do so) that means they will have missed every event to celebrate Charles' birthday - there have been three and they have been to none. Harry and Meghan delayed their honeymoon to attend the first one and were overseas for the second while William and Kate didn't attend either the Garden Party or the event organised by Camilla. As this one is organised by The Queen I would expect William to be there. He wouldn't insult the Queen by refusing her invitation.

Well, if the Cambridges don't turn up at the evening celebrations at BP, it would be an insult to Charles, not the Queen. - But William would never do that to his father, so (as you wrote) pretty sure they'll be there.

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Tiara events were reduced massively with the backlash in the 90s when the popularity of the British monarchy was in the dumper and for some it has been hard to recover (Charles is back at about 48% approval at the moment - up from around 20%).

1. Well, the Queen stopped wearing tiaras during the Royal Variety Performance in the 1980s (the first time was in 1987, although she did wear one in 1989, which was the last time).
2. Despite celebrating her Jubilees in 1977, 2002 and 2012 like no other monarch, she has never (with the exception of her black-tie 60th Birthday Performance at the Royal Opera House in 1986) marked her milestones with tiara-events.
3. But tiaras are still quite common in the British Royal calendar, and is (as you know) still used during the state opening and during white-tie events such as the diplomatic reception and state banquets. - The Queen also used tiaras during all her state/commonwealth visits from 1953 to 2015.
4. And some of Charles' approval-ratings were at about 70% from 2012 to 2017, but went down due to the 20th anniversary of Dianas death.

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Some of today's front pages:

The Telegraph.

The Times.

The Sun.

The Mail.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Majesty/Joe Little
@MajestyMagazine
The Prince of Wales will receive delegations from both Houses of Parliament at Clarence House tomorrow. To mark his 70th birthday, representatives will deliver a portfolio containing a humble address on behalf of their respective house.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062666834674098176

Majesty/Joe Little
@MajestyMagazine

From the Lords: The Lord Speaker, Leader of the House and Lord Privy Seal, Shadow Leader of the House, Convenor of the Crossbench Peers, Lord Wallace of Tankerness (substituting for Lord Newby, Leader of the Lib Dems), Lord Chartres (substituting for the Archbishop of Canterbury)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062667076085706752

Majesty/Joe Little
@MajestyMagazine
From the Commons: PM, Mr Speaker, Leader of the House, Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Leader of the House, Leader of the Lib Dems, Leader of the SNP, Leader of the DUP, Leader of the SDLP, Leader of Plaid Cymru, Leader of the UUP, Leader of UKIP, Leader of the Green Party.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1062667322303897601

 

[Mbruno]

Even at the Queen's coronation in 1953 many aristocrats had to hire coronets and tiaras as they had had to sell them in the previous 40+ years after the introduction of the death duties legislation.

Selling tiaras is doable, but who would buy a coronet ?

 

[Rudolph]

41 gun salute in Green Park

 

[stef]

Princess Marie Chantal is in London from yesterday, and today, Princess Theodora who lives in California has shared a short video in her instagram of the horse-drawn carriages of the Britain Royal House at London, she says "London Traffic".
The Greek Royal House will be present at the party

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

More articles from the Telegraph:

Prince Charles at 70 should be proud of his many achievements.

TELEGRAPH VIEW:

For most people, a 70th birthday is a chance to reflect on a lifetime of achievement. Retirement has most likely arrived, as has the opportunity to slow down. For the Prince of Wales, who turns 70 today, slowing down is not an option because his destiny is yet to be fulfilled.

Prince Charles is nevertheless entitled to take great pride in his achievements thus far. Last year he became the longest-serving Prince of Wales, taking the record from Edward VII, and he has not squandered the opportunities for public service the position offers. His charitable endeavours have been extraordinary. Most notably, the Prince’s Trust, which he founded in 1976, does brilliant work helping disadvantaged youngsters gain employment. He is the cornerstone of countless other good causes too, with his charities raising more than £100 million annually.

By Clive Aslet, editor of ''Country Life'' from 1993 to 2006 (now Editor-at-Large), writing for the Telegraph: Inside the private world of Prince Charles: What's life really like for our future king?

Following the Prince of Wales around the country, as I’ve done many times over the past 25 years, is nerve-racking. He moves at speed. At the age of 70, he has the inexhaustible energy of his parents. And after a lifetime of talking to experts and travelling the globe, he knows so much. As people who have spent time with him often say, he’s a polymath. And you don’t have to agree with him to be awed by the range of subjects he’s made his own.

He was, until he recently rearranged his commitments to take on more of his mother’s duties, patron of more than 400 organisations. The subjects they cover are dizzying. An alphabetical list would include architecture, the armed forces, art, business, the church, communities, countryside, environment, farming, health, horticulture, housing, medicine, music, young people, wildlife, woodlands… to name a few. Which makes it hard for those on the fringes of the group travelling with him (he’s always surrounded by people).

Suddenly a question will be darted at you. Unless you’re mentally on your toes, you’ll make a fool of yourself. Half the time he seems to know as much as the experts. This doesn’t make the Prince uniquely wise; his detractors would rather that he stuck simply to his ceremonial duties. But it is part of what makes him a truly extraordinary individual, a great, if at times somewhat under-utilised, national resource.

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Prince Charles: 70 years in 70 pictures - BBC News.

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BTW: See some of today's front pages in post 176.

 

[Ista]

More articles from the Telegraph:

Prince Charles at 70 should be proud of his many achievements.


By Clive Aslet, editor of ''Country Life'' from 1993 to 2006 (now Editor-at-Large), writing for the Telegraph: Inside the private world of Prince Charles: What's life really like for our future king?


--------------------

Prince Charles: 70 years in 70 pictures - BBC News.

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BTW: See some of today's front pages in post 176.

One of the criticisms of Prince Charles used to be that all of his knowledge was rather superficial. He had broad interests, but his actual knowledge was on the surface only, and lacked nuance. My impression from reading about the 70 year old PoW is that time has taken care of that criticism: while at one point the naysayers might have had a point, over the years his knowledge has deepened, and that he has much more depth and understanding of the subtleties than he used to. As the Telegraph pointed out, that knowledge is a very valuable resource for the nation and should be valued as such.

 

[Mbruno]

And you went and ruined it!

This is about Prince Charles' 70th Birthday, no time for politics.

Bad timing for a birthday party. In fact, it is surreal that, when the country is in turmoil, politicians from all parties will take time off to attend a birthday dinner for the PoW.

 

[iceflower]

.

The Prince of Wales as Patron of Age UK and the Duchess Of Cornwall attended a tea held to "celebrate 70 inspirational people marking their 70th birthday" at Spencer House today, November 14:



** gettyimages gallery ** rex gallery **

 

[tommy100]

Will be interesting to see if the PM was due to attend tonight I am almost certain she will have to give it a miss, MPs are calling for her to address the House of Commons tonight. If she is seen to be partying amidst the drama it will cause her a nightmare.

Anyway, hope Charles has a fab party. I can't remember MPs and members of the Lords going to visit him before. Definitely a step up in celebrations.

 

[muriel]

Bad timing for a birthday party. In fact, it is surreal that, when the country is in turmoil, politicians from all parties will take time off to attend a birthday dinner for the PoW.

1) Terribly difficult to time your birthday, IMO!

2) the country is not in turmoil, just Westminster.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Rebecca English (Royal Correspondent, Daily Mail), Hannah Furness (Royal Correspondent, Daily Telegraph) and Valentine Low (journalist, The Times) have just given Prince Charles a birthday present:

Twitter video 1 - Twitter video 2