As the excitement and festivities of King Charles’ coronation weekend die down, Buckingham Palace has released the official portrait of the newly crowned monarch surrounded by the official working members of the Royal Family.
The portrait showcases King Charles in his full regalia standing next to his wife, Queen Camilla, who is also dressed in her coronation attire and wearing Queen Mary’s Crown.
“An official portrait following the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6th May,” the photo’s caption reads.
“Pictured from left to right: The Duke of Kent, The Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Gloucester, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Princess Royal, The King, The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales, The Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra, The Duke of Edinburgh.”
However, two members of the Royal Family were glaringly missing from the group – the King’s second son, Prince Harry, and His Majesty’s younger brother, Prince Andrew.
The Duke of York was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages last year after the controversy surrounding his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harry and wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from their royal duties on March 2020. In the years that followed, the couple took part in numerous interviews shedding light on their experiences within the Palace walls.
Earlier this year, Harry also published his shocking memoir Spare which takes readers on a deep dive into the private aspects of the Royal Family’s life, including intimate details previously unknown to the public.
Despite this, royal fans are not all that pleased with King’s decision to exclude Harry from the official portrait when he was in fact present at his father’s coronation.
“Work Royal or not. Harry is still his son. He should have been more included.”
“Not our queen and Harry deserve to be in this photo.”
“A royal family that doesn’t include the king’s son isn’t family to me.”
“There is nothing more important than a son. This picture will never be complete without Harry.”
“I truly don’t understand, Queen Elizabeth forgave Charles and Camellia for their mistakes ( some large ones) because she believes family comes first. But the king does not forgive other family members???? We all have skeletons in our closes. Family comes first. Family comes before anything.”
It is understood that the King is favouring a smaller monarchy, and is expected to keep the official number of working royals to just 11.
However, Princess Anne has recently expressed her opposition to the notion of a reduced Royal Family, saying that slimmed-down monarchy “doesn’t sound like a good idea.”