Buckingham Palace has released a further two portraits from the King and Queen’s coronation day, including a striking photograph of Charles with his two heirs, the Prince of Wales and Prince George.
The powerful image, captured inside the palace shortly after the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, shows His Majesty, 74, on a throne chair in full regalia, with William, 40, and George, nine, standing on either side of him.
Dressed in the purple velvet and ermine-caped Robe of Estate, and wearing the Imperial State Crown, the monarch holds the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre with Cross, part of the regalia that had featured in the historic ceremony earlier in the day.
Next to him Prince William, in the ceremonial dress uniform of the Welsh Guards and the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle sash on top of his robes, smiles into the camera while George, fresh from his duties as Page of Honour to his grandfather, looks happy following his impeccable performance in the Abbey.
Against the rich red and gold backdrop of the Throne Room, the picture beautifully portrays the new line of succession as the institution moves into a new Carolean era following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September.
A second new image shows the King and Queen alongside Her Majesty’s Ladies in Attendance – her sister Annabel Elliot and her good friend the Marchioness of Lansdowne – as well as George and Camilla’s own pages, her grandsons Freddy Parker Bowles and Louis and Gus Lopes and her great-nephew Arthur Elliot.
Her Majesty is wearing the Queen Mary’s Crown, which was used for her coronation, while the rich purple velvet train of her Robe of Estate, hand embroidered with the national emblems of the United Kingdom, as well as plants and wildlife, falls on the steps below.
The photos are two of six official images taken by acclaimed royal photographer Hugo Burnand, with four released on Bank Holiday Monday after a weekend of celebrations, which included a star-studded coronation concert at Windsor Castle.
French-born Hugo, the only portrait photographer to be given a Royal Warrant, has previously been entrusted to take the official photos for the King and Queen’s wedding in 2005 and for the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011.
Hugo said: “I felt that it was important to take this picture,” he says. “I did a lot of research in the archives of past coronations, and I didn’t see any previous pictures of the line of succession. While we have seen pictures of the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William and Prince George, never have we seen them in the throne room with all the regalia.
“There’s a lot of formality in that picture. But I think that I’ve managed to show the essence of the individuals at the same time, which to me makes it not just a historical document, but also a portrait.”
Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, also “milling around” in the room made for a lively atmosphere and Hugo reveals he kept his jar of jellybeans nearby.
“There was a bit of noise fun and I my had my usual, enormous jar of jellybeans as rewards for people,” he says.
The young royals joined their parents in the Abbey to witness the historic moment their grandfather was crowned, with Louis retiring midway through the service.
He travelled back to Buckingham Palace in the carriage procession with William, Kate, George and Charlotte, and as ever, delighted the crowds with his enthusiastic waving from the balcony.
The Prince also carried out his first official engagement earlier this week as the Waleses helped out at a Scout Hut in Slough as part of the national volunteering drive to mark the coronation.
Louis didn’t hesitate once as he got stuck into a spot of painting, digging and decorating.
