Royal news live: King and Queen unveil official coronation portraits two years on from ceremony
Anniversary of coronation comes as royals attend VE Day celebrations
The King and Queen have unveiled portraits commissioned to mark their coronation, two years on since they were crowned.
Charles and Camilla gave the world the first glimpse of the separate full-length state portraits on display at the National Gallery, with artist Peter Kuhfeld saying he hoped his depiction of the monarch captured “the man and the King”.
The monarch and his wife were crowned two years ago on May 6 during a Westminster Abbey ceremony steeped in symbolism and history watched by millions.
The anniversary comes as the royal family continues to attend VE Day celebrations this week, to mark 80 years since the end of the war.
Camilla will appear at the Tower of London on Tuesday afternoon to view a new display of ceramic poppies, placed to “reflect on the lasting legacy of conflict”.
The visit comes after Buckingham Palace’s balcony hosted commemorations - eight decades after King George VI first marked the Second World War’s end from the same spot.
Meghan posts heartwarming birthday message for Prince Archie
The Duchess of Sussex has wished happy birthday to “our sweet boy” Prince Archie, saying: “He’s six! Where did the time go?”
Meghan shared a photograph on her Instagram of her eldest child, who was pictured from behind as he stood watching a vibrant orange sunset.
She captioned it “Our son. Our sun”, adding: “Happy 6th birthday to Archie!
“Thank you for all of the love, prayers, and warm wishes for our sweet boy. He’s six! Where did the time go?”
Meghan thanked friends who celebrated at a recent party, writing: “And for all of you who came to celebrate with us at his party last weekend, thank you for making his birthday so incredibly special” – followed by a red heart emoji.
Watch: Gun salute marks anniversary of the coronation of the King and Queen
King follows in grandfather’s footsteps by not wearing medals
Eighty years after King George VI marked Victory in Europe Day without adorning his uniform with medals, his grandson, King Charles III, followed suit.
At Monday’s VE Day parade in central London, the King opted for a similar display of understated commemoration.
Donning his naval No.1 dress uniform, he observed the military procession and flypast, commencing four days of national celebration.
A closer look at the King and Queen's new portraits:
Watch: Veteran helps Queen Camilla with blanket at VE Day commemorations
Poignant commemorations mark first VE Day without late Queen
The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe marks the first major VE Day commemorations to be held in the absence of Queen Elizabeth II.
The late Queen was meant to publicly lead the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020, but the Covid pandemic scuppered plans for widescale in-person national celebrations.
She died in 2022 and her eldest son the King will now steer the nation as tributes are paid to those who served during the conflict.
Read the full story:
Poignant commemorations mark first VE Day without late Queen
High-profile individuals allege ‘web of illegal acts’ by Mail publisher, court told
The cases of group of high-profile individuals bringing legal action against the Daily Mail’s publisher allege a “web of illegal acts”, the High Court has heard.
The Duke of Sussex and six others, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, are bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
At the start of a two-day preliminary hearing on Tuesday, the group’s barrister, David Sherborne, said lawyers for ANL had been “excessive” when redacting documents exchanged between the sides earlier this year.
In written submissions, the barrister said the “overbroad redactions” by lawyers for ANL had made many documents “incomprehensible or extremely time-consuming to analyse”.
Mr Sherborne later added: “The claimants’ cases allege a web of illegal acts – pulling on threads of that web may reveal more of the pattern.”
Pictured: King and Queen unveil official coronation portraits
Display of 30,000 poppies across Tower lawn
A new display of almost 30,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London is also set to form another touching tribute.
The poppies have been set to resemble a wound to reflect the long-lasting sacrifices made during the war.
The installation comes 11 years after the original exhibit of 888,246 ceramic poppies in 2014.
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