Prince William and Duchess Kate have shared a message for Prince Charles in honour of his 71st birthday. The royal is celebrating his special day in Mumbai, as part of his two-day trip to India. But he is still very much on his family's mind. A post shared on the Kensington Royal Instagram page included three photos, the first showing Charles doting on his young grandson, Prince Louis. The second snapshot shows the future King at an event with Prince William, with father and son clearly in high spirits, and the third is a touching picture showing Charles with both of his sons. "Wishing a very happy birthday to The Prince of Wales!" the caption read.
A short time later, a similar post appeared on Sussex Royal, the Instagram page for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They chose to mark the occasion with a black and white picture taken from son Archie's christening, showing Harry cradling his baby son while proud grandfather Charles looks on. "Happy birthday to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales – Sir, Pa, Grandpa!" their message read.
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He might be away from home, but Prince Charles has certainly had a memorable birthday thus far. He received a very special gift for his birthday from a group of Indian schoolchildren – bonsai fairy gardens. The children had been struggling to decide what to give the future King but came up with the idea of a present featuring the stories of Hindu deity Krishna, told with tiny figures in three bonsai gardens.
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The youngsters are all being supported in their education by a charitable foundation working in collaboration with Charles’ British Asian Trust. Their school is also being supported by the Piramal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group led by Indian billionaire industrialist Ajay Piramal. His wife, Dr Swati Piramal, told the Telegraph: "What can you give a Prince? What can the kids give him? So they thought of the bonsai gardens. He really loved it when I showed it to him, because of course in England there's a culture of fairy gardens, there are gnomes, but this is unique because this is Krishna's fairy garden."
Charles's two-day trip to India ended with a garland of flowers being placed around his neck and he clasped his hands in the traditional Hindu Namaste greeting when a boy gave him a flower. The children also sang Happy Birthday to the Prince as he cut a large chocolate cake.
