King Charles III has started his 75th birthday celebrations early with a tea party at Highgrove House, and his ‘friend’ The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades was in attendance.

His Majesty was greeted to an early gathering ahead of his milestone tomorrow, with applause from guests and a rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ playing in the background as he arrived at the event at his Gloucestershire home.

The early birthday party, hosted by The Prince’s Foundation, was attended by a host of guests including television host Jay – who was seen coming into the room behind Charles – as well as celebrity chef Raymond Blanc and 80s singer Leee John. 

Jay – who attended the monarch’s Coronation – recently called the King his ‘rich friend’ and ‘just a normal geezer’ after the pair formed a bond during Charles’s appearance on the hour-long special The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit.

The friendship between the two blew viewers away, with one writing: ‘The rapport between King Charles and Jay Blades on The Repair Shop is superb.’

Meanwhile, Charles let slip a playful eye roll as guests sang him Happy Birthday ahead of cutting his white and gold cake. 

Today’s early bash comes ahead of the King’s main event tomorrow, which is set to take place at Clarence House.

Guests at today’s event also included community stalwarts nominated by friends and family who are also turning 75 this year, as well as representatives from organisations marking the same milestone, from the NHS to members of the Windrush generation.

Leee, 66, who had several hits with the soul band Imagination and still tours and records, has met the King several times over the years.

His mother Jessie Stephens, 96, was one of the subjects of Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation, a project supported by the King.

He said he had spoken with the King and Queen at a Buckingham Palace reception in the summer to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush generation. ‘Both Charles and Camilla told me they thought my mum’s portrait was the best,’ he said.

Asked if he thought King Charles had brought a new inclusivity to the monarchy, he said: ‘Very much so. I was working with him for the Prince’s Trust back in the Eighties and he’s always been very supportive.’ 

In the Orchard Room, the visitors’ tea room in the Highgrove gardens, guests listened to West Country-based members of the Rock Choir performing classic hits and 14-year-old local musician Bill Goulding, a regular visitor to the King’s country retreat, playing tunes, including his special birthday composition for the monarch, on the piano. 

When the King arrived the choir were singing Hallelujah by the late Leonard Cohen, one of the King’s favourite performers. 

The choir sang Happy Birthday for the head of state at the end of the cream tea party, and after debating which of the three tiers of the Victoria sponge to cut Charles opted for the bottom.

He was cheered and applauded after cutting a slice and holding up the knife in celebration and peering at the sweet treat.

Charles, who has vowed it will be a normal working day as he clocks up three quarters of a century, peered inside the Victoria sponge cake after cutting it open.

‘It’s always fun to have a look,’ he said, before urging his 60 guests to eat the cake up. ‘Who can I donate it to? Can we get rid of it? We need to give you doggie bags,’ he added.

Blades, an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, paid tribute to Charles, saying: ‘He’s the new King but he’s also about community, he’s always been about community, always been forward thinking about what we’re doing about the environment but also including community members.

‘So to have this group of people here, that’s just unbelievable – that’s part of him, that’s what he does.’

Blanc, 73, paid tribute to the monarch despite describing himself as a French republican. ‘He has been campaigning for 50 years on environmental and social issues that are vital for our communities and our planet,’ he said. ‘What he has done is extraordinary.

The Michelin-starred chef, who has been working to help the foundation’s programme educating young people about food, revealed he has agreed to become an ambassador for the charity. He has also just finished making a television series about the King’s residences and gardens which will air on ITV on January 23 next year.

He said of the King: ‘He is a crusader and I hope the Government will give him a little bit more room to express himself.’

He added: ‘I am a French republican and I have the utmost respect for what he has done.’

The King greeted his guests and was even seen taking selfies at the event – where tiers of afternoon tea were on display. 

Aides said the King had wanted to make his birthday about others so had invited community champions in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset – local stalwarts nominated by other people – also turning 75 this year to the party.

The celebration also marked other 75th anniversaries taking place this year, including the arrival of the first post-war immigrants from the Caribbean on the Empire Windrush and the NHS’s 75th anniversary.

Among the guests in attendance was Jessie Stephens, sitter of the Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation.

Edna Henry, another of a number of guests who sat for portraits of the Windrush generation in a project overseen by the King, congratulated him on turning 75.

‘So are a lot of other people here, which is far more important,’ the head of state said modestly.

Many of the faces of those invited were familiar to Charles, not least Peter Newell, from Heywood in Wiltshire, who was with his wife Marilyn, both turning 75 this year.

Mr Newell, who formerly worked for Southern Electricity, helped in the construction of the Orchard Room back in 1999. ‘I was actually in charge of getting the electricity to it,’ he said. ‘So I spent a lot of time here. I first came here in 1980.’

He enjoyed his dealings with the then Prince Charles, who was hands on with the project. ‘He was very good,’ he said and told how they had agreed today that they would both try to make it to 100.

‘I said to him I’m hoping he is going to give me a card for 100. He said, ‘I’ll do my best.’

As Charles worked his way around the six tables of guests, Constantine Innemée, Highgrove Director for the King’s Foundation, trailed behind him with a pile of cards and gifts, including chocolates and home-made biscuits. 

Kristina Murrin, CEO of the King’s Foundation, said: ‘It has been heartwarming to see so many people from all walks of life come together today to celebrate both their birthdays and the positive contributions they have made to their local communities.’ 

The main celebration to mark the significant milestone is due to take place at Clarence House in London on Tuesday.

Charles’ gathering tomorrow will coincide with the announcement of an anti-waste initiative reflecting his growing concerns about food poverty in Britain. 

Charles will unveil the Coronation Food Project to coincide with his landmark day on November 14 after making an undisclosed substantial private donation to start the venture.

Eight food hubs will be launched across the nation, with the first four opening in London, Liverpool, Glasgow and Northern Ireland.

Others will follow in Cardiff, Leeds, Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Dame Martina Milburn will oversee the project after finishing her tenure as chief executive of The Prince’s Trust, the charity Charles set up to help young people.

The King is focusing on the issue as Britain throws away more food than any other European country.

King Charles and The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades: The ‘bromance’ that has sent fans wild 

It is a friendship that was born out of a shared love of antiques. 

And the bromance between King Charles III and The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades shows no signs of fading out. 

Presenter Jay and the show’s team visited Dumfries House in Scotland for a one-off episode to mark the BBC’s centenary filmed when Charles was still the Prince of Wales. The Royal special initially aired back in October. 

Following the show’s recording and airing, the pair have spoken of their friendship – with Jay clinching invites to both the Coronation and the King’s early birthday bash.

Jay previously received an MBE from the King Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales, for services to craft and in recognition of his work promoting heritage craft and restoration in the UK. 

The presenter described Charles as a ‘normal geezer’ as he chatted to the Capital Breakfast Show with Roman Kemp earlier this month.

Interviewer Chris Stark asked him: ‘You’ve had some big celebs… Dame Judi Dench, King Charles was on it and you’re watching him get emotional – this is a guy whose got everything…

‘How was it having royalty [in the Repair Shop barn]?’

Jay replied: ‘The same as having anybody else…’

The group laughed along, as Sian Welby joked: ‘You’re mates with him aren’t you, you’re like his cool friend, you can tell he loves him!’

To which, Jay said: ‘Yeah he’s just a normal geezer, he’s alright, he’s my rich friend, he runs the country!’

And in April Jay even revealed Charles invited him for a ‘sleepover’ after he featured on the BBC programme. 

Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, Jay explained: ‘I had no opinion on him, but went to meet him and we just hit it off and spoke about craft. 

‘The funny thing is I was suppose to go up there because I’m an ambassador for his charity and he had invited me three times to go up there, have a look around, spend the night and have a sleepover at the then-Prince’s house.

‘I went there on the fourth attempt after turning him down three times and I said to the Mrs I said I best go, or I’ll get kicked out of the country.’

Jay previously said the British public had ‘never seen’ King Charles like how he is during his appearance on The Repair Shop. 

In the episode, Charles met students from the Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme – a training initiative that teaches traditional skills such as blacksmithing, stonemasonry and wood carving.

Speaking to The Mirror, Jay described the King as ‘a real joy’ to meet and said it was a ‘wow moment’ to have him on the show.

He said: ‘People often say never judge a book by its cover so you never listen to what people say until you’ve met the real person yourself.

‘It was a real joy and an honour to be working with him, wait until you see it, you’re going to be amazed. You never see him like this.’

Jay previously spoke about the importance of Charles appearing on the show and speaking to someone ‘from a council estate’.

He said: ‘You’ve got someone from a council estate and someone from a royal estate that have the same interests about apprenticeships and heritage crafts, and it is unbelievable to see that two people from so far apart, from different ends of the spectrum, actually have the same interests.’

Viewers went wild for the rapport between the two, with one person writing: ‘The rapport between King Charles and Jay Blades on The Repair Shop is superb. In a world where everything is ‘binned’ at the drop of a hat, it’s a brilliant and refreshing show.’ 

Another commented: ‘Just watched again The Repair Shop where they repaired two of, the then Prince Charles’, antiques from Dumfries House. In stitches again at how incredibly relaxed and informal Jay Blades was.

‘Loved it when he told the King not to be a stranger.’