Today, Buckingham Palace shared King Charles and Queen Camilla's 2023 Christmas card. The card features a portrait of the royal couple by Hugo Burnand in the Throne Room at the Palace following Charles and Camilla's coronation on May 6, 2023.
The card, like last year's card, reads "Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year."
This is now the seventh portrait taken by Burnand to be released by Buckingham Palace (you can see the six other coronation portraits here). Burnand also photographed the wedding of then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Per the Palace, "Hugo has been taking photographs of Their Majesties both privately and officially for over 20 years."
In the portrait, King Charles wears the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of Estate, and Queen Camilla wears Queen Mary's Crown and Robe of Estate. Her coronation dress, designed by Bruce Oldfield, features her rescue dogs embroidered on them, and the names of her children and grandchildren.
"I am honored to have been asked to design such an historic gown for Her Majesty. This really is the most important commission of my life. Very exciting and very special," Oldfield told Women's Wear Daily after the coronation. "An interesting element of the gown is that it reflects a more fluid and modern representation of the king and the queen consort’s affection for nature and the British countryside."
Charles and Camilla are set to spend Christmas at Sandringham, where Queen Camilla's grandchildren will reportedly join the royal family in their holiday celebrations.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
