Spiritual and Touching Tribute to Prince Charles at 70 | Royal | New

Warmly and spiritually welcoming 200 guests into the ballroom, the 92-year-old monarch called the Prince of Wales "Duchy Original", a reference to the organic product company he had created in 1990. She also joked about her penchant for planting trees and congratulated the second wife of Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, for her support. Earlier in the day, Charles had been hailed by artillery guns, had accepted a fun balloon and organized a reception for 70 people, who will also be 70 years old this year.

A large number of family members, friends and members of the European kingship attended his evening dinner.

The queen told her guests, "It is a privilege for any mother to be able to toast her son on his 70th birthday, which means that you have lived long enough to see your child grow up. like – use an analogy that, I am sure, will find favor: to plant a tree and watch it grow.

"My mother saw me 70 years old, of course, and we heard her say that 70 years old is exactly the age when the number of candles on your cake ultimately exceeds the amount of breath that you have to blow it. "

The queen, accompanied by members of royal families from Norway, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, described her pride in the life and work of her son.

She said: "Philip and I have seen Charles become a champion of conservation and the arts, a great charitable leader, a dedicated and respected heir, able to compare himself to the men of history and a wonderful father.

"Above all, supported by his wife Camilla, he is his own man, passionate and creative.

"So, this toast is to wish a happy birthday to my son, in all respects an original Duchy, to you Charles, to the Prince of Wales."

The day of celebrations was launched by BBC Radio 4, which played the national anthem at 7am.

Shots were fired at various locations, including Cardiff Castle, the Tower of London and the green park of the capital.

Prince Charles – painted as a workaholic by his family – had a busy schedule of meetings before his late afternoon engagement with other septuagenarians.

He and Camilla walked the few hundred meters between Clarence House and Spencer House, the London home of Princess Diana's family, which is now rented to a company.

Upon arrival, he stopped to speak to reporters in the royal press, who offered him a 70th anniversary balloon and a Hot Nuts insect-proof container designed to prevent gray squirrels from feeding on birds. in his gardens.

He joked with the reporters, "I did not know you specialized in balloons, where do you find these terrible things?" When asked how he felt, he replied, "Older, it's more like indigestion – a lot of Happy Returns are not quite the same as you get older."

Camilla, 71, who admitted last week and had a hard time thinking about a gift, was asked if she found anything at the end. She replied, "I did it, but I do not say it."

When asked if he could start slowing down now, the Prince replied, "You may see him slowly but surely."

Camilla intervened: "I doubt it."

At the reception, the couple met with volunteer guests of charities like The Prince's Trust, The Silver Line, Maggie's and Barnardo & # 39; s.

The group sang Happy Birthday before posing for a photo and sipping tea instead of sparkling wine.

In the end, Charles joked, "I was just asked outside if I was going to slow down .I am not sure I had a lot of alternative."

COMMENTARY BY RICHARD PALMER, Royal Correspondent

FORGET the two royal marriages or the birth of Prince Louis.

For the British monarchy, the 70th birthday of Prince Charles is the central event of 2018.

This became evident when the love of the art for the heir to the throne, rather than for the wedding dress of the Duchess of Sussex, was chosen as the theme of the special exhibition organized at the summer opening of Buckingham Palace to tourists.

The birthday of Charles is not only the reason for a family party, it is also a milestone event around which the cabinet can take stock and reflect on the next steps of his reign.

There was a time when the courtiers considered that any mention of what happens after the departure of the queen was in bad taste.

But in recent years, they are gradually preparing us for the transfer of power to King Charles III.

In the honors list of the new year 2014, Lord Geidt, then private secretary of the queen, received a second knighthood for "a new approach to constitutional issues … [and] preparing for the transition to a change of reign ".

He was forced to leave last year because of tensions with the people of Charles, who has more and more power within the Royal House, the heir to the throne assuming more and more of responsibilities and the queen reducing her workload.

In April, the Queen helped persuade the leaders of 53 nations to choose him as the next Commonwealth leader after her, a nomination that was not automatic.

Will she officially withdraw?

It has been claimed that she could invoke the Regency Act and make Prince Charles a substitute sovereign, the Prince Regent, at the age of 95.

Nothing can be ruled out if she is no longer physically or mentally capable of assuming her monarch duties, but that would be surprising.

Many people may think that she has earned the right to get up, but her abdication is anathema to her. At the beginning of her Diamond Jubilee Year in 2012, she reaffirmed the commitment she had made on her 21st birthday "that all my life, whether long-run will be spent on your service".

Unless there is a serious illness, it is more likely that Charles will continue to assume his duties gradually, leaving at least his head of state under his name and waiting status.

Last week, Charles took a big step towards wider acceptance of this king after addressing one of the main issues that have been troubling him for years.

He insisted that he would no longer get into public controversies when he would be king.

"I'm not so stupid, I realize it's a separate exercise to be sovereign," he said.

Charles will modernize the monarchy, almost certainly thin it and take care of its way up to a certain point. But it seems that he will not deviate significantly from the controversy avoided by his mother.

The big challenge he and his courtiers still face is to convince the British public, especially the older ones, that Camilla should be his queen because of the complexity of their relationship.

In 2005, when the couple was married, Clarence House had announced that she would only use the title Princess Consort, out of deference to those who blamed her as well as Charles for the years of Diana's misery. .

Opinion polls have varied, but for the moment at least, it seems that most Britons continue to believe that Camilla should never be turned into queen consort.

Trying to change the mind will probably be next on the list of things to do at Clarence House.