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Strolling arm-in-arm, their smiles as matching as the royal blue in their outfits, the King and Queen look like a couple without a care in the world.
Yet the photograph released to mark the first anniversary of the Coronation tells a double-sided story of celebration and anguish.
Taken in the Buckingham Palace garden on the morning of April 10, the day after Their Majesties’ 19th wedding anniversary, the portrait by photographer Millie Pilkington is designed to reflect “the joys and challenges of the past year”.
Notably, while the Queen is looking straight at the camera, the King is looking at her.
Reminiscent of outdoorsy shots of Queen Elizabeth II and the late Duke of Edinburgh, the image provides a perfect illustration of what we have witnessed since Charles III, 75, was diagnosed with cancer in February – that of a monarch buoyed by his consort.
Throughout his cancer treatment, the Queen, 76, has not just been credited with keeping the royal show on the road but also acting as her husband’s most stalwart supporter.
Epitomising the Windsor spirit of “keep calm and carry on”, the grandmother has carried out more than a dozen extra engagements on behalf of the Firm, including hosting Ukraine’s first lady and leading the Royal family at a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Her stepping up, along with senior royals including the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, has meant that the King has not had to appoint any of his Counsellors of State to undertake his duties for him – quite the achievement considering the absence of Prince William and the Princess of Wales, who also announced last month that she was undergoing treatment for cancer.
While the decision for the King to return to public-facing duties will have been taken on doctor’s advice, there is no doubt that the workaholic sovereign has been actively lobbying for it.
As Peter Phillips, Princess Anne’s son, revealed last month, his uncle had been growing frustrated about the speed of his recovery and was “pushing” staff and doctors to be able to make a full return to work, having spent the past two months largely confined to his red boxes and remote meetings.
Describing the King as being in good spirits, he said: “He’s frustrated that he can’t get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do. He is very pragmatic, he understands that there’s a period of time that he really needs to focus on himself. But at the same time he is always pushing his staff and everybody – his doctors and nurses – to be able to say ‘actually can I do this, can I do that?”
The Queen will no doubt have found herself caught between a husband eager to go back on walkabout and doctors understandably erring on the side of caution.
Yet she is said to be thoroughly looking forward to being back by her husband’s side as he resumes official engagements with a visit to a cancer treatment centre next Tuesday, the first in a number of public engagements His Majesty will undertake in the weeks ahead.
It is understood that, moving forward, each engagement will be carefully reviewed and managed to reduce any risks to the King’s recovery. A palace spokesman has confirmed that planning continues for ways in which the couple may attend major summer engagements such as Trooping the Colour and Royal Ascot, although “nothing can be confirmed or guaranteed at this stage”, with all plans subject to doctors’ advice.
Yet the decision for the King and Queen to host the emperor and empress of Japan for a state visit in June certainly looks positive, as does the suggestion that the couple may visit Australia and the Pacific to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa in October.
While it certainly hasn’t been the start they were hoping for, the King and Queen’s stoic support of each other through their own “annus horribilis” has made the first 12 months of the Carolean era look reassuringly Elizabethan.
The picture that shows the Queen is the rock who helped the King through his toughest time
Throughout his cancer treatment, Camilla has not only kept the royal show on the road but also been her husband’s most stalwart supporter