The Royal Family Celebrates Queen Camilla As She Turns 76

On July 17, 2023, Queen Camilla celebrated her 76^th birthday, her first as queen. The Royal Family tweeted "Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a very Happy Birthday today!" and included a beaming photo of Camilla in a blue blouse and stylish trench coat. William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales also posted a birthday greeting for Camilla along with a recent photo of the queen sitting in the stands at Wimbledon. 

Westminster Abbey marked the special occasion by posting a photo of the newly crowned queen during King Charles' May 6 coronation. In addition, the historic abbey also commemorated Camilla's birthday with musical fanfare by ringing its 10 bells.  Currently, Camilla, Charles, William, and Kate are the four royals whose birthday is celebrated in this way. Prior to 2020, this list included 12 royals (among them William and Kate's three children), but things have been scaled back due to financial constraints at the abbey. 

Camilla also received a musical tribute from the Band of the Irish Guards, who played "Happy Birthday," at Buckingham Palace. The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery Battery honored the queen with a bang when they fired a 41-gun salute in front of crowds in London's Green Park.  Fanfare aside, Camilla plans to celebrate her special day privately this year. She typically doesn't make a big deal of her birthday. "I let them come and go. I mean I'd be very happy to turn back the clock," Camilla joked to British Vogue last year.

Last year, for her milestone 75^th birthday, Queen Camilla celebrated in a huge way. For starters, she guest-edited the July 2022 issue of Country Life. Catherine, Princess of Wales collaborated with Camilla and photographed the queen for the magazine's cover. ITV celebrated her birthday by airing the documentary "Camilla's Country Life." Camilla also gave a candid interview to British Vogue in July 2022 where she expressed her feelings about aging. "When you get to any big number, whether it's 30, 50, 70, you think: 'God, that's so old.'" However, she takes birthdays in stride with her typical pragmatic approach. "I think you just accept that you are who you are," she observed. "You get to be a 75-year-old."

Camilla's friends, in conjunction with The Oldie magazine, treated her to a special birthday lunch in 2022. At the event, Camilla gave a speech in which she honored the Duke of Edinburgh as well as Queen Elizabeth. "Both he and Her Majesty have always been the very touchstone of what it truly means to 'get on with the job,' and an inspiration to each one of us here to do the same, whatever our age." Public celebrations aside, last year Camilla celebrated her actual birthday day in a quiet way, just like her plans for this year. "I shall spend it with my family and a few friends," she explained to British Vogue in 2022.