King Charles will turn 76 on November 14 – marking his first birthday since childhood diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

To celebrate his 76th birthday, the king, long known as a workaholic, will spend his big day at work (naturally), opening the first two Coronation Food Hubs, one in person and the other virtually, the palace confirms .

Thursday November 14 also marks Charles’ first birthday Coronation Food Projectwhich seeks to bridge the gap between food waste and food need across the UK. Food hubs are large distribution centers designed to store and circulate tons of surplus food.

On November 14, the center the king is visiting will host a surplus food festival, with meals created from food that would otherwise have gone to waste. Charles will tour the new facilities, meet beneficiaries and representatives from food banks, schools and community groups, according to the palace. The King will also view a newly installed industrial freezer during his visit, which will increase capacity by 400%, significantly improving the ability to store more surplus food.

The first two Coronation Food Hubs are the first in a network of hubs, the palace said. The Coronation Food Project has already saved a further 940 tonnes of surplus food, the equivalent of around 2.24 million meal portions, as it says around 14 million people in the UK are food insecure .

In a piece for The daily mailCharles’ son-in-law Tom Parker Bowles said his father-in-law was a “true food hero” who “practices what he preaches,” particularly when it comes to food sustainability.

“There is no waste at (King Charles’) table,” Tom said.

The year 75 was undoubtedly a difficult year for the king, who, following a hospital procedure for benign prostatic hypertrophy in January, was diagnosed with cancer, which the palace announced on February 5. The king began his cancer treatment the same day. and this treatment continues.

He was largely absent from public duties until April 30, during which time his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton also announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer following a hospital procedure in January. Although the types and stages of the King and Princess of Wales’ respective cancers have never been revealed, the palace has clarified that the king does not have prostate cancer.

“I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my dad, for handling the things they did,” Prince William said in an emotional interview on November 7. “But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yes, it’s been brutal.”

The second half of 2024 was more positive than the first, with Kate, 42, announcing she had chemo finished on September 9. The following month, Charles and Queen Camille embarked on a royal tour of Australia and Samoa, their first royal tour since the King announced his cancer diagnosis and the first tour of this size and scale since the start of Charles’ reign in September 2022.

The King and Queen were due to have a glamorous night out the day before Charles’ birthday, November 13, as they were due to attend the premiere of Gladiator II. Camilla, 77, withdrew from the occasion as she continues to recover from a lung infectionannounced by the palace on November 5. She missed all of the Remembrance events that same week, but attended a planned engagement on November 12 in support of the Booker Prize literary.

The day after his birthday, Friday November 15, the King, as Captain General of the Royal Marines, will visit the Commando Training Center Royal Marines (CTCRM) at Lympstone in Devon to meet Royal Marine trainees and instructors, as well as the families and veterans of the Corps. Charles will present the King’s badge and a green beret to the best member of the King’s squad as they complete their commando training, and Charles will have a flashback to his days as a helicopter pilot, as he will have the chance to return to some of the facilities where he trained to take on this position.

Last year, for his 75th birthday, Buckingham Palace marked the occasion with a 41-gun salute from the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and the Tower of London gave the monarch a 62-gun salute. canon. He also attended a reception at Buckingham Palace with NHS nurses and midwives and had a party at Highgrove House with people who have done good work in their local communities. There was also a small private gathering at Clarence House, the home he shares with Camilla, to pay tribute to this milestone.

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Although his 76th birthday will be more low-key, Charles has had his fair share of big birthdays in the past. For his 21st birthday in 1969, the royal received an Aston Martin DB6 Volante convertible from his mother, Queen Elizabethand for his 30th birthday in 1977, he threw a party at Buckingham Palace where, in the height of the disco era, he was serenaded by the Three Degrees, particularly their song “Givin’ Up, Givin’ In”, which Tatler reported that Charles said it gave him “an irresistible urge to get up and dance” as recently as 2021. For his 50th birthday in 1998, 850 guests attended his birthday party, minus one person than many would assume to have been present – ​​the former Camilla Parker-Bowles. (According to Tatlerthe two celebrated privately later at Highgrove.)

For his 70th birthday in 2018, another party was held at Buckingham Palace, and Queen Elizabeth said on the occasion: “It is a privilege for any mother to be able to toast her son on the occasion of his 70th birthday. This means that you have lived long enough to see your child grow up. It’s kind of like, to use an analogy, I’m sure she’ll find grace in planting a tree and being able to watch it grow.