King Charles attended the Gladiator II premiere in London on Wednesday, making a solo appearance as Queen Camilla missed the event due to her recovery from a chest infection. Arriving at the ODEON in Leicester Square, Charles was accompanied by a mystery companion, identified as his Assistant Private Secretary, who works closely with the royal household’s Private Secretary, Sir Clive Alderton.
The Assistant Private Secretary plays a significant role in advising the King on constitutional and governmental matters across the 14 realms and 54 Commonwealth nations where he serves as Head of State. Charles’s appearance at the premiere came just before his 76th birthday, but he continued his duties the next day, inaugurating two Coronation Food Hubs in south-east London and Knowsley in Merseyside.
During the opening, the King was presented with a homemade birthday card and serenaded by a group of schoolchildren. He also joined children from Peckham’s Rye Oak Primary School at a “surplus food festival,” where they discussed food waste and enjoyed meals created from surplus ingredients. Asked if he’d be taking a break on his birthday, Charles replied with a smile, “Not quite.”
