Rare photo released of the Queen with all three heirs to the throne
The British Royal Family have released a rare photograph of the Queen with her three heirs to the throne.
The image features the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George and was shared on the Kensington Palace Instagram to mark the start of a new decade.
The photo was taken on the same day that the Queen hosted the extended royal family for their annual Christmas lunch on December 18th.
The caption reads:
“A new portrait of The Queen and The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince George has been released to mark the start of a new decade.
“Wishing all of our followers a happy and healthy 2020!”
The newly issued photo is one of only a few times a portrait has been issued with the Queen and all three heirs.
The first portrait was released in April 2016 for the Queen’s 90th birthday and was used on Royal Mail stamps. Another photo was taken of the foursome at Prince George’s christening in 2013 as a part of the official christening photographs.
The photo is reported to have caused tension from the Sussex family as they saw it as a sign that they were being excluded from royal life, according to The Times.
The newspaper also said that their decision to step away from royal duties was triggered by the Queen's Christmas message not featuring any photos of the couple on her desk.
Nick Ede, a PR expert, has played down these claims as the Sussexes couldn't have expected to be in the photo.
"I think it was very interesting to see that photograph... that was a very interesting silent PR tool to show there is a streamlined royalty, a streamlined family, and those are the ones we should be focusing on,” he told Yahoo News UK.
“In many ways I can’t see that as a tipping point... the fact of the matter is Prince Harry and Meghan are quite far down the pecking order now so they really shouldn’t be there on that, and it really should be the future king and obviously the next ones," he explained.
“I think it was a direct way of showing they are streamlining, they are thinking about what do do about taxpayers’ money.
“When the Queen goes, it is going to change, no matter what anyone says.”