A shot of Queen Elizabeth and then-Prince Charles at the Braemar Highland Gathering in 2017.Photo:Samir Hussein/WireImage
Samir Hussein/WireImage
King Charlesis remembering his mother,Queen Elizabeth, on thefirst anniversaryof her death.
After midnight on Friday in the U.K., the King issued a formal message to mark the anniversary, which doubles as hisAccession Day. Charles immediately acceded to the throne when his mother died at age 96 on Sept. 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She reigned for arecord 70 yearsand had recently celebrated herPlatinum Jubilee.
“In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty’s death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us,” King Charles said in the statement.
“I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all,” he added, referring to his wifeQueen Camilla.
Buckingham Palace also released audio of King Charles reading his statement. The recording took place on Thursday at Balmoral Castle.
The message was sent on Balmoral Castle letterhead, another signal of where the King is in residence. Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son and successor hascontinued her traditionof retreating to Balmoral at the end of the summer, where he was spotted driving to church last week with his wife.Kate Middleton,Prince WilliamandPrince Andrewtraveled in another car, whilePrince Edward,Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh,Princess AnneandVice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurencealso rode together to Craithe Kirk church. The outing indicated that the family came together at the castle for a summer stay, as they did for decades during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
The photo was first shown at the National Portrait Gallery between November 1968 and March 1969 in the exhibit “Beaton Portraits 1928-68.” The display was the first retrospective of a living photographer’s work in a British national museum.
While Beaton would go on to photograph Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family in the years that followed, the 1968 sitting that produced the portrait the court released today was their last together.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to spend the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s anniversary quietly and privately, as the late monarch used to do on her ownAccession Day. Meanwhile, Prince William and Princess Kate areexpected to lead the public tributeson Friday.
Traditions that will continue include the ringing of bells at Westminster Abbey on Friday in honor of the King’s Accession Day, theabbeypreviously announced. A 21-gun salute will be fired in the royal parks of London as a gesture of respect, theroyal familystated.
PEOPLE Magazine, September 18, 2023.
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As the anniversary arrives, the royal family is still adjusting to life without their matriarch.
In matters both personal and professional, “there is an enormous loss,” a source close to the royal householdtells PEOPLEin this week’s cover story, “as [the Queen] played a very important part in all of their lives. But I’m impressed at how smoothly things are moving forward given all the little hiccups that there are in the background."
source: people.com
