Oh yes, he has once again stretched out an olive branch in the direction of his twisted son and his good-for-nothing wife. This is how the British gossip press rated the Windsor family portrait on the occasion of King Charles’ upcoming coronation on May 6th in London. In fact, the photo was taken in 2018 and shows today’s royal couple with Prince William, Princess Kate and their three children, as well as Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan. In the garden of Clarence House, where Charles and Camilla lived, the royals had gathered to have a beautiful picture made for the head of the family’s 70th birthday. It also worked well. What nobody knew at the time: there was already a crisis behind the scenes. What is worse is that almost five years later, this very picture is used to print it in the official souvenir program for the coronation.
The only reasons: since then there have been almost no particularly happy shots of the three couples – and certainly none of Charles with all his grandchildren. A shame.
After Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan decided to step down from their roles as working royals in early 2020 and eventually had to leave the royal family, there were few encounters with royal relatives. The Duke and Duke of Sussex first moved to Canada and later to Montecito, California. Princess Lilibet was born there on June 4, 2021. Queen Elizabeth II got to know her youngest great-granddaughter, an official picture is said to have been prevented – by Charles.
Apparently there is no picture of Charles and his five grandchildren together either, otherwise he would probably be releasing it right now and not one that was taken long before Archie and Lilibet were born.
The tradition of monarchs with grandchildren and great-grandchildren is old. Showing yourself with the offspring should always convey a feeling of security. Politicians come and go – the royal dynasty remains immovable. She is the rock in the surf and a fixed point on which the subjects can lean and rely. There were pictures of Queen Elizabeth II with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren at the latest for throne anniversaries and round birthdays. On them, the Queen often appeared not only with the descendants of her eldest son, but also with the children and grandchildren of Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
As much as Charles tries to ignore the media storms of the past few months, he keeps revealing what the family picture actually is: an illusion.
