In one of the four official photos released Monday by the British royal household, King Charles III is shown with the nucleus of his family. And there are absences that attract attention: neither Harry nor Andrew appear in it.
Harry's non-inclusion was interpreted as another sign of the disunity between the king and his youngest son after he and his wife Meghan Markle separated from the royal family.
Although for many it has been a cruel gesture, Harry's absence is logical. The official photo includes only active members of the royal family.
Neither Harry nor Andrew are in the picture. Photo: Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023/Handout via REUTERS
That's why Charles III (from left) is joined by the Duke of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Anne (Charles' sister) and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Edward (the King's brother) and his wife Sophia, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Alexandra, cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth (who sat next to Harry at the ceremony in Westminster).
Andrew, brother of Carlos III, is not part after being removed from his duties for his friendship with the convicted of running a network of trafficking of minors, Jeffrey Epstein.
The real photos
The other three official photographs feature Charles III and Queen Camilla. They are a portrait of each one alone and another of both posing together.
The portrait of King Charles III after his coronation. Photo: Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023/Handout via REUTERS
The person responsible for the images is Hugo Burnand, photographer of the king since April 2005, when he worked for his wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles when he was still Prince of Wales.
The photo of Charles III with Queen Camilla. Photo: Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023 via AP
Burnand was also responsible for the snapshots of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011 and the official portrait of Charles for his 60th birthday.
The solo portrait of Queen Camilla. Photo: Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023 via AP
A broken relationship
Meghan and Harry's estrangement from royalty had already been noted last year at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. However, at some point all was well between the marriage and the royal family.
The first meeting between Meghan and the Queen was in 2017, during a relaxed lunch at Royal Lodge, the residence of Prince Andrew. At Christmas of that year, Elizabeth II first invited her grandson's then-girlfriend to party at the Sandringham estate.
The following year was their first act together, in Cheshire. There they shared a carriage aboard the royal train and even had breakfast together.
Harry and Meghan renounced the crown in 2020. Photo: AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File
But since January 8, 2020, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex caught the world's attention with their resignation from the crown, Harry and Meghan began to crack their relationship with the family.
The idea that Elizabeth II and Markle had strong crosses or that the Queen did not accept her grandson's wife was always present in the "royal ecosystem", but a fierce argument between the two women was never confirmed.
In a memorable television interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry and Meghan responded to allegations of workplace harassment by Buckingham against the wife of the Duke of Sussex.
Harry and Meghan's famous interview with Oprah that sparked the scandal. Photo: Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions via AP
"I don't know how they can expect us to keep quiet after all this time when there is an active role that The Firm plays in perpetuating falsehoods about us," Markle said.
In conversation with the American presenter, Meghan revealed that she never knew how to adapt to her new life and that she felt silenced and isolated in the new role she had to assume.
One of the Dukes' worst accusations against British royalty was aimed at one of the (hitherto unknown) members of the Queen's inner circle who would have made a racist gesture with them by asking them worriedly what color Archie's skin, their first child, would be.
Although in the interview Meghan said that "the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me", after the broadcast there was talk that Elizabeth II may have been the one who made the questionable query.
Queen Elizabeth II never argued with Harry and Meghan, her grandson said. Photo: John MACDOUGALL / AFP
The rumors were dismissed within days, as Harry claimed that the Queen was not part of those discussions. In fact, her daughter is named Lilibet after her grandmother's childhood nickname.
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