King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla have picked a charming image to grace the front of their annual Christmas card.
And it turns out that the picture picked for the couple's first card since Charles became King was snapped at a very poignant time.
That's because it was taken on September 3, just five days before the death of the late Queen on September 8, 2022.
The image, taken by award-winning photographer Sam Hussein, shows Charles and Camilla smiling at the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering.
It captures the King from a side profile, dressed in a tweed suit with a red, green and beige tie.
Meanwhile, Camilla is wearing a green suit and matching hat with a pheasant motif, and pearl earrings.
During the event, Charles, who was still Prince of Wales at the time, officially opened a new structure celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as he joined spectators at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park for the annual Highland Games event.
His mother was not in attendance due to her declining health.
The snap is marked change from the photo that appeared on their Christmas card last year when they were still Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
That image was a nod to the Covid-19 pandemic and showed Charles helping Camilla with her face mask at Royal Ascot earlier that year.
The card comes as the couple prepare to spend Christmas Day at Sandringham this year, marking a return to the traditional royal family Christmas on the Norfolk estate.
The monarch and the Queen Consort are expected to be joined by their wider family as they mark their poignant first Christmas since the death of the late Queen and Charles’s accession to the throne.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the King had this year decided to travel to Sandringham House, where Queen Elizabeth II hosted her family over the festive period throughout the decades.
It follows a two-year break, when, due to the Covid pandemic, the late Queen spent Christmas at Windsor Castle two years in a row – the first with the Duke of Edinburgh, separated from her wider family in lockdown.
Royal Christmases usually feature a morning trip to St Mary Magdalene Church, the greeting of well-wishers, and a family lunch with turkey and all the trimmings.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are often among the gathered guests.
Charles is also preparing to pre-record his historic, first ever Christmas Broadcast as monarch, when he will no doubt reflect on the loss of his mother and her legacy.
Traditionally, members of the royal family sit down to watch the televised address when it airs after lunch, usually at 3pm on December 25.
Sandringham House has been the private home of four generations of British monarchs for more than 160 years, and now belongs to the King.
The late Queen celebrated the eve of her Platinum Jubilee there just seven months before her death.
