The royal family just unveiled a new official portrait.
On Saturday, the palace released a new image on social media of King Charles, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, and Princess Kate. In the photo, taken by Getty photographer Chris Jackson, the four royals, all dressed in black, pose side-by-side inside Buckingham Palace on the night before Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. That evening, the royal family hosted a reception at the palace for 500 dignitaries and world leaders who had traveled to London from far and wide to attend the historic funeral, including President Joe Biden and First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska.
Just three days after Queen Elizabeth’s death Charles released his first official portrait as the new monarch, depicting himself in a scene typically associated with his late mother. In the image, the new king is sitting at a desk in Buckingham Palace pulling important documents out of the royal’s famous red box. Behind him, he also placed a black and white portrait of his late parents that the couple gave to King George VI for Christmas in 1951, shortly before his death in February 1952.
King Charles was officially proclaimed as the United Kingdom’s reigning monarch on September 10 in a televised ceremony. The Accession Council made the official proclamation of King Charles in the state apartments of St. James’s Palace in London with Camilla, Queen Consort and Prince William, in his first official role as the Prince of Wales, looking on. A clerk read the proclamation to the Privy Council, which is composed of senior Cabinet ministers, judges and leaders of the Church of England in the palace’s picture gallery. “The crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to the Prince Charles Philip Arthur George,” the clerk stated. “We… do now hereby with one voice and consent of tongue and heart publish and proclaim that the Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory become our only lawful and rightful liege lord, Charles III.”
Following the queen’s death, King Charles also publicly addressed the nation, vowing his “unswerving devotion” to uphold his late mother’s legacy of service. “I, too, now solemnly pledge myself, through the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” he told the country. “Whatever your background or beliefs may be, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love.”
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