Lighter moment in Highlands captured in King’s Christmas card
IT WAS taken just three months ago but marks an entirely different royal era.
The Queen Consort smiles conspiratorially at her King, as he gazes ahead, engrossed in the activity before him.
A hint of a smile suggests he was content and thoroughly enjoying himself.
Back then, they were the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. And while they may well have known that a seismic shift would soon befall the monarchy, in the moment, their shoulders were light.
It is this image that His Majesty and the Queen Consort have chosen for their Christmas card this year. It was taken at the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering on Sept 3, just eight days before Queen Elizabeth II died.
The annual event is one of the most popular with the Royal family, a sporting spectacle rooted in Scottish tradition. It falls at the end of summer when most have spent at least a part of their holidays together at Balmoral, the late Queen’s Aberdeenshire estate.
The photograph captures a moment that the King and his wife may look back on with particular affection.
However, sources insisted yesterday that there was no hidden message behind the choice. They simply liked the image, taken by award-winning photographer Samir Hussein, who also took the image the couple chose for last year’s Christmas card, which depicted them sharing a touching moment at Royal Ascot during the coronavirus pandemic.
Both wore facemasks alongside their formal attire, pinpointing a specific time in history.
Mr Hussein also took a now familiar image of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they carried out one of their final royal engagements in the UK in March 2020.
Beaming at each other in the rain, the widely celebrated portrait appeared in their new Netflix documentary.
The release of the royal Christmas card has become a popular tradition as senior members of the family choose a favourite image which is sent to well wishers accompanied by warm wishes for the festive season and the new year. In the image chosen for this year’s card, Camilla is wearing a green suit and matching hat with a pheasant motif, and pearl earrings.
It captures the monarch from a side profile, dressed in a tweed suit with a red, green and beige tie.
During the event, Charles officially opened a new archway celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as he joined spectators at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park.
His mother was not in attendance due to her declining health.
Charles cut a heather rope to mark the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Archway. Crowds from across the globe joined him and the then Duchess to watch competitors take part in events such as the caber toss, hammer throw and tug-of-war, as well as to celebrate some longstanding Scottish traditions, dance and music.
Camilla and the Princess Royal were presented with heather posies by 10-year-old Chloe Guy and 12-year-old Cassie Stewart, who are both members of the Braemar Royal Highland Society’s dancing class, before the Games got under way.
Camilla appeared to take a sprig of flowers and put it in her buttonhole, which can be seen in the Christmas card photograph.