King Charles III will celebrate his first birthday as king next week

According to Buckingham Palace, “Official celebrations to mark the Sovereigns’ birthday are often held on a day other than the actual birthday, particularly when the royal birthday was not in the summer. King Edward VII, for example, was born on November 9, but his official birthday was marked throughout his reign in May or June, when good weather was most likely for the Anniversary Parade, also known as the Trooping of the Color. ”.

Queen Elizabeth II continued this tradition because her birthday fell outside the summer months, on April 21. She normally celebrated her birth date privately at Windsor Castle, but it was usually marked by salvos of guns. And if it was a momentous occasion, she would go for a short walk, as she did on her 80th and 90th birthdays.

King Charles III is expected to keep up the tradition of celebrating twice because his birthday is in the cold, dark winter – November 14th, to be specific.

What we do know about Monday the 14th is that there will be a lot of gun salutes.

The festivities will begin at 11 am (local time) with a special version of “Happy Birthday” by the Household Cavalry band at Buckingham Palace. The palace is where Charles was born, in 1948, when his grandfather, King George VI, was still on the throne.

This performance will be followed at noon by a royal salute from 41 cannons from the King’s Royal Artillery Corps in the vicinity of Green Park. The Band of the Scots Guards will make another version of “Happy Birthday”.

An hour later, the Honorable Artillery Company will fire a 62-round salvo at the Tower of London.

Gun salutes are typically given as a sign of respect or welcome, according to the British Army. An open hand salute was used historically to show that no weapon was hidden in the palm of the hand, so firing a cannon as a salute indicates friendly intent from an empty chamber. Today, volleys of gunfire are fired in the UK on significant royal anniversaries.

The number of shots fired depends on the location and occasion. The basic royal salute is the traditional 21 rounds. In Green Park or Hyde Park in central London, 20 extra rounds are added because the salute is taking place in a Royal Park. At the Tower of London, the rounds go up to 62: the basic 21, plus an additional 20 because the location is a Royal Palace and Fortress, and then another 21 to show the loyalty of the City of London, which has its own jurisdiction, separate from the rest of London.

King Charles still resides at Clarence House, so we can expect well-wishers to flock there, hoping for a glimpse of the monarch and perhaps even a walk to mark his first birthday as sovereign.