Prince William chooses an ultimate dad photo to mark King Charles III’s birthday

Every parent ever has been there. You let your offspring select an appropriate photo of you for a special event and they choose one that is, well, probably not how you see yourself. And even monarchs have to grin and bear it.

As King Charles turned 76, the Royal Family did what all royal families do now when royal birthdays roll around. They had a gun salute or three, they had ancient churches peeling bells and they took to social media to share birthday wishes.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were straight on their official social media first thing on November 14th 2024 to celebrate the 76th birthday of King Charles III. And while the message was very regal, reading ”wishing a very happy birthday to His Majesty The King”, the photo was pure dad.

For Prince William had selected an image of his father, on tour, wearing some rather striking sunglasses as well as a bright red and green garland around his neck.

It’s one of those photos of parents that children, however old, love. Dad looking kind of cool but also completely unlike dad and with a slightly bemused look just to round it all off. Dad would have chosen something different, something slightly more patriarchal, perhaps. Son, 42, is still basking in the hilarity of it all.

The official Royal Family social media chose a formal portrait of The King, taken at Buckingham Palace.

It was a classic image even if it does seem rather strange to have the official channel of The King appearing to have him wish himself a Happy Birthday in the third person.

However, not marking the moment just isn’t an option. Thousands hover over official royal accounts now on birthdays and anniversaries to see if a particular person gets a nod or not and hours of debate are had about why or why not someone has been celebrated while someone else has not.

The big takeaway from today’s big birthday is that kids are kids, whether their dad is King or not.