King Charles celebrates 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio

Britain’s King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla celebrated the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s first Folio on Tuesday.

The King marked 400 years since Shakespeare's plays were published in collective form, bringing actors and directors together to celebrate his love for the bard and a book hailed as one of the most important in English literature.

According to reports, it was Shakespeare who Charles turned in his first speech as king, the day after his mother Queen Elizabeth died, quoting from Hamlet to round off his tribute to her devotion and duty: "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest".

Royal expert Richard Palmer took to Twitter and shared King Charles and Camilla’s photos and videos from the ceremony, saying “The King and Queen are leading a royal group at Windsor at a celebration of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s First Folio, a copy of which is held in the royal library at the castle.”

The First Folio, published in 1623, contains 36 plays, including 18 that would have been lost without its publication.