King Charles will celebrate his 75th birthday next month with a new scheme that will provide up to 200 million meals a year for the poor.

He will officially launch the Coronation Food Project – which he has already kick-started with a “substantial” six-figure personal donation.

It will be his first significant project as monarch and follows earlier initiatives as Prince of Wales, including environmental campaigning and supporting disadvantaged young people through the Prince’s Trust.

Charles is said to be “very concerned” about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Britons. The five-year food project aims to reduce waste radically and help those most in need with the creation of eight new hubs and depots.

They will redistribute millions of meals a year that would otherwise go to waste. The project aims to “supercharge” food distribution with warehouses, fridges, freezers and vans.

The first four will be built in London, Glasgow, Mersey-side and Northern Ireland — with a further four chosen from a list including Cardiff, Leeds, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, the North East and South West.

Charles apparently wants his birthday on November 14 to be a “normal working day”, which he will start with an engagement outside London to mark the official start of the food project. Later on in the day he will return to the capital for another engagement.

Insiders said the plan to help those without enough food is a “current priority”, but courtiers were quick to dismiss any interest from the King in getting involved in the politics.

An aide reportedly said: “The King has been aware of the huge problems facing people because of inflationary issues and the cost of living. Buckingham Palace has briefed the Government and the Labour Party on Charles’s project and both are supportive of the plan.”

Meanwhile, the Royal Mint has produced a special £5 coin to mark the 75th birthday of Charles, left, who was the UK’s longest-serving heir in history before he acceded to the throne following the death of his mother in 2022.