Prince Charles’ Birthday: Photograph to mark the Prince of Wales’ 70th sees him smiling with delight as he is surrounded by family

The Prince of Wales poses for an official portrait to mark his 70th Birthday in the gardens of Clarence House, with his wife Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Willliam Duke of Cambridge, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry Duke of Sussex and Meghan Duchess of Sussex
Clarence House via Getty Images
Hatty Collier14 November 2018

Prince Charles smiles with delight as he is surrounded by some of his closest family members in an official portrait to mark his 70th birthday.

The Prince of Wales, who turns 70 on Wednesday, sits with his laughing grandson Prince George, five, on his lap in the photograph which was taken in the gardens of Clarence House.

Wife Camilla, his sons Prince William and Harry, their wives Kate and Meghan and the grandchildren including six-month-old Prince Louis and three-year-old Charlotte grin and laugh heartily in the candid snap.

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has her arm wrapped around Princess Charlotte and is pointing at something in the distance. Kate, dressed in a blue and white spotty dress with collar, is holding her baby son Prince Louis.

Meghan, dressed in a white dress cinched in at the waist with a black belt, is almost doubled over with laughter as she leans into her husband. It is not known if the photo was taken before or after her pregnancy was announced.

A second photograph shows the family members composed.

Two official portraits have been released to celebrate Prince Charles's 70th birthday
Clarence House via Getty Images

Heir to the throne Prince Charles turns 70 on Wednesday. He will welcome his fourth grandchild into the world when Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gives birth next spring.

Prince William said in a recent interview that he would like his father to spend more time with his grandchildren but that “when he’s there, he’s brilliant.”

In recent months, he has been increasingly stepping in for the queen and supervising the Prince's Trust, an ambitious charity he founded 42 years ago that has helped hundreds of thousands of young Britons.

Prince Charles's 70th birthday stamps

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This year the Queen took the unusual step of lobbying the Commonwealth countries to specify that Charles would be the next leader of the group, a position that is not hereditary.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall
REUTERS

Charles has also taken a more visible role representing the Queen at some important national events, most recently during the Remembrance Day celebrations honouring Britain's fallen soldiers. He placed the Queen's wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph monument while she watched from a balcony seat.

Is his 70th a signal that it's time for the elegantly greying prince to take it easy? Not on your life, says Charles' wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince Charles places the Queen's wreath at the Cenotaph at the National Service of Remebrance
EPA

"I don't think he thinks he's 70," she wrote in a birthday tribute in The Telegraph Magazine. "I think it's just a number to him. There's no way that he will slow down. You must be joking. I keep saying 70 is getting on a bit. It's not very old but it is old. You have to slow down a bit."

Camilla said the public does not understand how "incredibly kind" and funny Charles is, and William and Harry - taking part in a rare BBC interview to mark his father's birthday - praised the way he has used his position as Prince of Wales to advocate so many important causes, such as environmental protection.

Prince Charles: The Prince of Wales - In pictures

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Charles has been criticised in the past for his controversially lobbying, campaigning on the environment, architecture and homeopathy.

But interviewed about his milestone birthday by the BBC, the prince urged that he would not be able to do the “same things I've done” as heir of the throne. He said as monarch he would operate within “constitutional parameters".

Speaking in detail about his future role as head of state the prince said: "You know, I've tried to make sure whatever I've done has been non-party political.

“I think it's vital to remember there's only room for one sovereign at a time, not two. So, you can't be the same as the sovereign if you're the Prince of Wales or the heir.

"But the idea somehow that I'm going to go on in exactly the same way, if I have to succeed, is complete nonsense because the two - the two situations - are completely different."

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