King Charles gets huge birthday treat as he spends big day carrying out royal duties

King Charles marked his 76th birthday today by visiting a south London trading estate to highlight the work of his Coronation Food Project, which aims to reduce food waste

King Charles was given a special treat as he celebrated his birthday on a south London trading estate.

The monarch was serenaded with a rendition of Happy Birthday as he marked his big day at a "surplus food festival" after choosing to use his 76th birthday to highlight the work of his Coronation Food Project, which aims to reduce food waste. He launched the initiative on his birthday last year after becoming concerned about the cost of living crisis. It has already raised £15million and saved 940 tons of food - equivalent to more than two million meals.

As he opened the first Coronation Food Project (CFP) hub, in Deptford, he was serenaded by school children from Rye Oak Primary School in nearby Peckham and was presented with a birthday card adorned with a large 76-by-six-year-old pupil Zariah.

The King, who was repeatedly wished a very happy birthday throughout his visit, joined in with the applause as he thanked the children for their efforts. He bent down to shake a nervous Zariah’s hand, asking if she had helped make it before opening it to admire the signatures from children, parents and staff.

The King also virtually opened a second Coronation Food Project hub in Merseyside but fell victim to technological problems when the video link failed. "Good morning," he said to the staff on screen. "Where are you in Liverpool?"

He chuckled when it became clear they could not hear him, as staff frantically attempted to restore the link. "If I may say so, I’d better declare the hub in Liverpool open before you disappear again," he eventually said, to much laughter. Please give my kindest wishes to everybody there, and I hope it makes an enormous difference to all their remarkable work that they do with so many different communities who need it so valuably. I hope you have a great success with those huge freezers."

The King also unveiled two plaques, one for each hub. The plaques state that the facilities were opened by both the King and Queen but the Queen, who had planned to attend but opted to rest at home as she recovers from a chest infection. The CFP is led by Baroness Casey and Dame Martina Milburn, both of whom were on hand to show the King around the spacious new facility, operated by the Felix Project, which will increase chilled storage space by 76 per cent and freezer space by 400 per cent.

The King was shown around several makeshift food stalls set up by organisations that have signed up to donate surplus food, including Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Greencore. He admired pre-prepared meals, including macaroni cheese, asking whether the pasta came from Italy, and expressing a personal fondness for a “very good” tomato and basil sauce.

"It must be quite difficult to plan because you don’t quite know when you will have a large surplus," he said. "I’m most grateful to you for taking an interest, it makes a huge difference." The King expressed hope that a further 4.5million tonnes of surplus food could eventually be put through the system. "There’s hope, presumably, to draw down?" he asked. "That’s the key."

The monarch then took a seat at a table with a group of schoolchildren, telling them that he had just been viewing the cottage pies and pasta. "Have you all been having something to eat or do you have to wait ‘til I get out of the way?" he asked. "What time do you all have lunch?"

Told it was 12.30pm, he looked at his watch and said: "Oh, nearly! Do you always know the day of the week by the food they give you for lunch?".

Dame Martina addressed the staff, volunteers and financial backers gathered in the room, saying: "I just want to say something about how proud I am to have a King and Queen who decided to do something to make a difference with their Coronation. And Sir, you were, you are, you continue to be the inspiration for this project. I think all of us in this room just want to say an enormous thank you for doing that because I think it's really special. And I hope you feel as proud and emotional of this building as I do today, and I cannot wait to show you the freezer."

Baroness Casey then addressed the King, saying: "We have cantered towards your birthday, and though it's a very special day, it's not only your birthday, it's the birthday of the Coronation Food Project." She said that in 12 months, the organisation had turned wasted food into more than six million meals.

"You're standing in a building that has been converted in such a short period of time, and will be operational by Christmas." She added. “So we can go and get the Fortnum & Mason turkeys, I’ll be down at Waitrose again. I like the posh ones, you can tell. And so we're going to go and get those turkeys and they will be in these freezers by Christmas. Liverpool is already up and running and able to do exactly the same thing - I'm sure you have posh shops in Liverpool, let’s go raid those off shops."