Buckingham Palace Releases New Portraits Of King Charles And Queen Camilla Ahead Of Coronation

The coronation invites are out, and a new portrait of England's monarch has been released.

Buckingham Palace today shared a new portrait of King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort. The photo was taken last month in the Blue Drawing Room at the palace by Hugo Burnand.

In the image, the royals stand side by side. King Charles wears a pinstripe cobalt blue suit with a white dress shirt and a patterned tie that perfectly matches Camilla's bright blue dress. Camilla accessorises with a three-strand pearl choker with a sparkling silver center, a seeming nod to Queen Elizabeth's iconic three-strand pearl necklace. She also wears pearl drop earrings and her diamond engagement ring from the king.

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With the portrait, the palace shared the invitation for King Charles's coronation, which will take place on May 6 (which is also Prince Archie's fourth birthday).

The invitations will be delivered to more than 2,000 guests who will form the congregation in Westminster Abbey, the palace said, adding that eight pages of honour have been chosen to attend the coronation service. The king's pages will be Prince George, Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, Master Nicholas Barclay, and Master Ralph Tollemache. The queen consort’s will be her grandsons, Master Gus, Master Louis Lopes, and Master Freddy Parker Bowles; as well as her great-nephew, Master Arthur Elliot.

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A spokesperson for Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan confirmed to BAZAAR.com last month that the two are among the guests being invited to the coronation. The Sussexes have "recently received" email correspondence from the monarch's Buckingham Palace household regarding the May event, the rep said, adding that "an immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."

In sit-down interviews promoting his memoir, Spare, Harry said he and Meghan were not opposed to attending his father's coronation, but that it was up to King Charles and Prince William to make the next move in regard to repairing their relationship. 

"There's a lot that can happen between now and then, but the door is always open. The ball is in their court," he told ITV's Tom Bradby in January. "There's a lot to be discussed, and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it."

The coronation invitation was designed by artist Andrew Jamieson and hand-painted in watercolor and gouache. The illustration includes the coronation emblem and the motif of the Green Man (an ancient figure from British folklore, symbolic of spring and rebirth) crowned in leaves of oak, ivy, and hawthorn, and the emblematic flowers of the United Kingdom. Flower illustrations throughout appear in groupings of three, signifying the king becoming the third monarch of his name. 

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A lion, a unicorn, and a boar—taken from the coats of arms of King Charles and Camilla—can be seen among the flowers. Camilla's arms are now enclosed by the Garter, following her installation as a Royal Lady of the Order of the Garter last summer, the palace said.

The design will be reproduced and printed on recycled card with gold foil detailing.

This article originally appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR US.