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The beginning of a new decade is time to reflect on the past, present, and future. And to mark the moment, the royal family has released a rare new photograph of the Queen and her three heirs in the Buckingham Palace Throne Room.
The portrait was taken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie on December 18, the same day that the Queen hosted the extended royal family for an annual Christmas lunch.
In a statement the Palace said: “A new portrait of Her Majesty The Queen and Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince George has been released to mark the start of a new decade.”
On the day the picture was taken, the foursome also filmed footage stirring pudding together to support the Royal British Legion’s Together at Christmas initiative.
The Palace described today’s picture as only the second time a portrait has been issued of the Queen and all three heirs. The first was released in April 2016 for the Queen’s 90th birthday and was used on Royal Mail stamps. A photograph of the foursome was also taken at Prince George’s christening in 2013 as part of the official christening photographs. This mirrored an image released almost 120 years earlier of Queen Victoria and her three heirs at the christening of the future King Edward VIII in 1894. That picture also showed the future King George V and future King Edward VII.
The new image, released at the start of the 2020s, comes as figures compiled by Times reader Tim O’Donovan show that Prince Charles carried out the most official engagements in 2019, with a tally of 521. He increasingly represents his mother at events overseas and has also laid the nation’s wreath at the Cenotaph on her behalf on Remembrance Sunday since 2017.
Prince William, who carried out 220 engagements last year, has also started to learn about the Duchy of Cornwall estate that he will inherit when Charles becomes king. But the 93-year-old monarch continues to keep a busy schedule. Last year, she carried out 295 official engagements in the U.K., according to O’Donovan’s count.
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