British Embassy in Cairo Celebrates King Charles' 76th Birthday in a Shakespearean Fashion

The British Embassy in Cairo celebrated His Majesty King Charles III’s 76th birthday with a grand reception in the garden of the British Ambassador’s Residence, with over 2000 guests.

Senior Egyptian officials took part in the celebrations, including key ministers and parliamentarians, and numerous businessmen and women, intellectuals and celebrities were in attendance.

The theme for the reception was William Shakespeare’s magical play set in an enchanted forest, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”, in celebration of the King’s admiration for the UK’s most famous playwright and the theme’s association with the King’s lifelong love of nature.

As a result, in honour of the UK’s Green Partnership with Egypt and in pursuit of protecting the environment, the British Embassy partnered with the ‘Carbon Footprint Center' at the University of Heliopolis to ensure that the reception remains carbon neutral and that all emissions from the reception were offset.

For the guests’ entertainment, the British Embassy invited to sing in honour of the King, Nesma Mahgoub, an Egyptian singer, known for her incredible voice serenading the Pharoah’s Golden Parade in 2021.

Reflecting on the event, British Ambassador to Egypt, Gareth Bayley, said: “We are honoured to celebrate His Majesty The King’s 76th birthday tonight, three years on from his visit to Egypt. He has dedicated his life to protecting the environment and holds a deep affection for Egypt, which tonight’s event celebrates. In the last three years as Ambassador here, I am proud to witness the relationship between our two countries flourish, whether it is though our Green Partnership or our extensive trade ties. Today is not just a celebration of His Majesty, but also of the special bond our two countries hold and showcasing the best of what the UK has to offer.”

In the past year, the UK and Egypt have strengthened their relationship in various fields:

· Gender: The British Embassy launched the Laha w Maha لها ومعها fund in 2023, which will be providing up to £2m in grants over the next two years. The fund will be helping to find innovative solutions to prevent violence against women and girls and support survivors. The UK has also announced an ambitious £45 million higher education programme to create safer and more accessible learning environments for women and girls, removing barriers preventing the next generation of leaders from enrolling in higher education.

· Education: The UK continues to offer various scholarships, including its flagship Chevening scholarship that opens for a new round very soon, which funds Master’s studies in the UK for Egyptians students. The British Embassy has also supported the opening of new British University campuses, British schools and British-Egyptian dual degrees, including Wycombe Abbey, Uppingham School, University of Plymouth, University of East London, as well as the University of Buckingham, set to open in Egypt in 2025.

· Trade: The UK’s trade relationship with Egypt was valued at £4.9 billion by the end of 2023, a 3.8% increased from 2022, and total UK foreign direct investment into Egypt totalled at £8.7 billion. The efforts of the British Embassy in nurturing the UK-Egypt trade remain eminent. The British Embassy, in collaboration with the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce and the Egyptian Cultural and Education Bureau in London, hosted a successful UK Higher Education Mission to Egypt, consisting of the UK’s top universities. The Embassy also welcomed the UK’s Trade Envoy on his first visit since 2019.

In the UK, the country will be celebrating His Majesty’s birthday King’s Birthday Parade, also known as ‘Trooping the Colour’, on 15 June, which marks the occasion with a military parade of 1350 soldiers and Royal Air Force aircraft taking the skies above Buckingham Palace watched on by the King, Queen Consort, and other members of the Royal Family. The Trooping the Colour ceremony dates back to the reign of King Charlies II (1660-1685), but it become an official annual event in the UK during King George III’s reign in 1760.

The British Embassy would like to thank their sponsors: BP, NHMC, Vodafone, AstraZeneca, Standard Chartered, Unilever, Shell and BAE Systems. The event was made a success with their support.