On Monday, King Charles celebrated his 74th birthday. Among the many presents he received was the honor of becoming the new Ranger of Windsor.
As yet the gifts he received from his children and grandchildren have not been revealed. William and Kate, as well as the Royal Palace, congratulated the monarch on his birthday, as per reports, though it’s unclear whether Harry and Meghan sent him birthday wishes.
Royal Family members have traditionally been open and public with regards to sending their regards to each other. Indeed, they often do so through their social media accounts.
Yet this year, perhaps tellingly, it seems as though Harry and Meghan’s relationship with Charles has reached a level where even a “happy birthday” is asking too much.
King Charles celebrated his 74th birthday Monday; his first as monarch. As per reports, had no official engagements planned for the day and kept the celebrations private.
Naturally, some public birthday celebrations were arranged even so. The Band of the Household Cavalry performed Happy Birthday during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, while gun salutes were fired across London in honor of Charles’ birthday. The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery firing 41 shots at Green Park.
King Charles’ birthday
Moreover, King Charles was also given an honorable new job on his 74th birthday (as he needed more of those).
Through its social media channels, the Palace announced that His Majesty has officially become Park Ranger of Windsor Great Park. The Ranger of The Great Park, the Palace writes, provides “oversight and guidance to the Deputy Ranger and his team in the day-to-day stewardship of one of the country’s oldest estates.”
Seventy years ago, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was appointed as Park Ranger. He held the position from 1952 to his passing in 2021, becoming the longest-serving Ranger in history.
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“His Royal Highness took an active role in overseeing developments, such as the reintroduction of Red Deer into the Deer Park in 1979 and the development of The Savill Garden Visitor Centre and Virginia Water Pavilion,” the Palace wrote on Instagram, alongside posting a picture of Charles leaning against an ancient oak tree in Windsor Great Park.
In 1559 Sir Henry Neville was appointed as the first Park Ranger during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Since, the post has usually been held by the monarch or family members, including King Charles’ father and grandfather.
The monarch’s two birthdays
“We are honored to have His Majesty as Ranger of Windsor Great Park, continuing a long tradition of the Sovereign and members of the Royal Family holding this role,” Paul Sedgwick, The Crown Estate’s managing director, rural and deputy ranger of Windsor Great Park, said
“Windsor has a wonderful heritage with many precious natural habitats.”
King Charles celebrated his first birthday as a monarch this week, but he won’t have to wait another year before he gets to celebrate it again. Sound strange? Well, it sort of is.
The royal tradition is that the reigning monarch takes a second birthday as well. This has often been celebrated in June previously. Buckingham Palace, though, is yet to confirm whether Charles will follow the tradition of celebrating a second birthday.
For more than 260 years, the Trooping of the Colour – or the Queen’s Birthday Parade – has marked the official birthday of the British monarch. Over 2,000 soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians gather annually for the nationwide celebration. Queen Elizabeth was born in February – but her official birthday was always on a Saturday in mid-June.
For his birthday, just like any other family, King Charles received warm greetings from his family. To commemorate his 74th birthday, Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a special message via their social media – they were the first members of the Royal Family to wish him a happy birthday.
Harry & Meghan did not congratulate King Charles
“Wishing His Majesty The King a very happy birthday today,” the post from Kate and William read. They shared the greeting and a picture of King Charles smiling during a visit to Yorkshire last week.
Buckingham Palace also wished His Majesty a happy birthday, sharing a picture of a happy Charles. Moreover, the Palace also posted a behind-the-scenes peak at when the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired the birthday cannons at Green Park and when the Household Cavalry Band performed Happy Birthday at Buckingham Palace.
However, some members of the Royal Family decided not to share any greetings. Two who didn’t were Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, opting not to post anything on their Instagram page. The Sussexes famously shut down their Twitter and Facebook accounts in January last year, saying that it was because of all the “hate” they experienced online.
In fact, they haven’t posted to their Sussex Royal Instagram account – which has 9.5 million followers – since January 2020.
Moreover, Harry and Meghan decided not to share a congratulatory message to Charles on their Archewell website either. It was updated last Sunday, though we don’t know if they spoke to King Charles in private for his birthday.
Harry getting ready for book release of ‘Spare’
As the Daily Mirror reported, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, and Sarah Ferguson didn’t share any birthday messages to the King through their social media accounts. Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, meanwhile, don’t have any official social media pages.
Of course, it should go without saying that Harry and Meghan and King Charles – as well as the rest of the Royal family – have a very strained relationship at the moment.
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Since leaving the Royal Family, the Sussexes have opened up a rift with the Firm. As new details of Harry’s upcoming book were released recently, the best guess is that said rift wasn’t exactly healed.
In the press release for Harry’s upcoming memoir, Spare, publisher Random House said: “Spare takes readers immediately back to one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow and horror.”
“With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”
“I’m deeply grateful”
When it was announced that Harry was writing a book back in the summer, the 38-year-old said: “I’m writing this not as the prince I was born, but as the man, I have become. I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.”
“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a first-hand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful,” Harry added.
No one knows what Harry will communicate, reveal, accuse, or praise concerning the Royal Family in his memoir. One thing’s for sure: it’s clear that his father, King Charles, is unhappy and has decided to act.
Earlier this fall, it was reported that Charles planned to change the law to prevent non-working royals from being Counselors of State. They currently consist of five people – the spouse of the monarch and the next four royals in the line of succession over the age of 21.
Counselors of State can fill in for the King and carry out official functions such as holding Privy Council meetings and meeting new ambassadors. However, they do not have the authority to dissolve Parliament, grant rank titles, or deal with matters that involve the entire Commonwealth.
King Charles has “firmly excluded” Harry from royal life
With the passing of the Queen, three of those were non-working royals – Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, and Princess Beatrice – and Charles was said to have wanted to change it by removing the trio for good.
On Monday, King Charles approached Parliament to initiate the process of passing legislation that would change the 1937 Regency Act.
By all accounts, it seems like King Charles’ plan is now complete. His Majesty has decided to appoint Princess Anne and Prince Edward as Counsellors of State – according to royal experts – while Harry has been “firmly excluded” by his father.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, royal expert and author Tom Bower said that there was obviously “no reconciliation” when the King and Harry met at the time of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September.
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“Clearly, there was no reconciliation during the Queen’s funeral and Charles fears the worst from the Netflix series and Harry’s memoir,” Bower said.
“Harry is firmly excluded – until he decides to come back to Britain and ask for forgiveness.”
“Harry and Meghan would be absolutely furious”
Royal expert Angela Levin added that it was necessary to have Anne and Edward as Counselors of State ahead of Harry as they live in the UK. However, she also claims that the Sussexes will rage over the decision.
“Harry and Meghan would be absolutely furious. But he lives in California, he’s stopped being a working royal, so why should he [be a Counsellor of State]?” Levin said. “It isn’t about Harry,”
She added that the public would be “absolutely furious” if Prince Andrew were asked to stand in after the severe accusations against him, which made King Charles’ move “very sensible.”
Time will tell if Harry will ever mend the relationship with his father and the rest of the royal family. We will know for sure when his book has been released in January.
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