Prince William and Kate Middleton pose for a new portrait with King Charles III and the Queen Consort

Royal fans have shared their delight as Buckingham Palace releases the first official photograph of King Charles III, the Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales, standing together in their new royal roles. 

• The new portrait sees King Charles III standing beside his eldest son and heir, Prince William, with their wives, Camilla Queen Consort and Catherine standing on either side.
• The photo is the first shared online to depict the foursome in their new roles, with fans dubbing them ‘the present and future of the monarchy’.
• This royal news comes after the heartwarming reason Kate Middleton knows she will succeed as Princess of Wales is revealed.

Buckingham Palace has delighted royal fans with a new, official portrait of King Charles III and the Queen Consort standing alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The photograph was taken on the 18th of September, just one day before Her Majesty, the Queen’s state funeral and depicts the four royals wearing black as the family was still observing mourning. 

The end of the official royal mourning period was marked with a poignant image of the Queen on the 26th of September, with members of the Firm returning to royal engagements. Prince William and Kate were among the first to resume their royal duties, making their first visit to Wales as the new Prince and Princess of Wales.

The new portrait, taken by Chris Jackson and shared on the Royal Family’s Instagram and Twitter accounts, shows King Charles standing side by side with his eldest son and heir, Prince William who is next in the line of succession. 

As body language expert Judi James points out to the Metro, Prince William's hands can be seen clasped in a ‘dutiful’ gesture, which Judi notes, “could signal his role of support and stand-in for his dad…It looks dutiful.”

Camilla, the Queen Consort and Kate are pictured with their arms around their husband's backs, which James notes could signify ‘support.’

Royal fans were quick to compliment the new photo, one fan wrote, “What a beautiful picture.”

“The authentic fantastic four 👏👏👏 Queen Elizabeth would be so proud of them ❤️,” added another, before a third fan commented, “The present and future of the monarchy.”