King Charles III Official Portrait Released by Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace released an official portrait of King Charles III on Sept. 23.

The photo shows Charles at a desk carrying out government duties. The image also contains a nod to his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died earlier this month at age 96.

“The image was taken in the Eighteenth Century Room at Buckingham Palace last week and shows His Majesty The King carrying out official government duties from The King’s Red Box,” the palace said in a statement.

“The Red Box contains papers from government ministers in the United Kingdom and the Realms and from representatives from the Commonwealth and beyond. The documents are sent from the Private Secretary’s Office to The King, wherever he may be in residence, in a locked red despatch box.”

The portrait also captures the king’s late parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in a picture taken more than seven decades ago.

“The photograph in the background of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh was given by the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip to King George VI for Christmas in 1951,” the palace said.

Charles, who is the former Prince of Wales, officially became head of state on Sept. 10, two days after his mother’s death.

He also spoke to Parliament on Sept. 12, the first time the tradition of responding to condolences was seen publicly and televised.

As the world watched the queen’s funeral, Charles left a note on her coffin, continuing a tradition of notes on royal coffins. His note read, “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.” The “R” stands for rex, which means “king” in Latin.

A coronation ceremony for Charles will take place, but it has not yet been scheduled.

“No indication on date but I would say spring or summer of next year,” royal expert Daisy McAndrew told TODAY.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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