King Charles turns 78 in full swing, and jokes with his contemporary Elton John

King Charles III turns 76 in the spirit of the usual family celebration reserved for this day at Windsor, after having concluded his fourth year of reign and returning from a flurry of recent international and domestic public commitments: from the delicate mission in the Caribbean which culminated at the beginning of November in the thorny debate on British guilt in the slavery of the past at the last Commonwealth summit; at the solemn commemoration of the war dead on Remembrance Day, which he presided over immediately after returning from that long journey; until yesterday's visit to the London suburb of Croydon sealed in a public school by a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' in his honour.

Commitments that confirm the apparent stability of his health, marked in recent years by treatments to keep the cancer of an unspecified nature diagnosed in 2024 at bay. But which today give way to a more intimate celebration, with his inseparable Queen Consort Camilla, seasoned with the best wishes of subjects and family members: starting with the traditional ones via social media of his firstborn and heir to the throne William, with his wife Kate and three children.

According to custom, the birthday of British sovereigns is celebrated privately, while the official public celebrations take place in June for each monarch (regardless of their date of birth) with the Trooping the Color parade. Today, however, there was no lack of full broadcast of a special radio show - recorded and partly previewed in recent days - in which the king spoke with his almost contemporary Sir Elton John, legend of pop and rock music, who has just turned 79. A very long-standing acquaintance - who was also a great friend of his late ex-wife Diana and who recently joined his rebellious son Harry in a legal battle against the intrusions into privacy attributed to the Daily Mail tabloid - with whom Carlo did not fail to talk about charity, but also to joke amiably: with jokes about the ailments of advancing age for both.