King Charles’ coronation portrait ‘no fantasy’ as photographer reveals ‘one of the rules’ he had to give up on

King Charles’ coronation portrait was “no fantasy” as photographer Hugo Burnand revealed “one of the rules” he had to give up on. 

• Photographer Hugo Burnand has revealed behind-the-scenes details about capturing King Charles’ first official portrait following his coronation.
• According to him, the final picture is truly “authentic” with a specific focus and he had to abandon one of his personal “rules”.
• This royal news comes as Duchess Sophie’s soft gray coat dress pushed the royal outside her fashion comfort zone. 

Growing up as one of the late Queen Elizabeth ’s children, His Majesty has become accustomed to being photographed but his first official portrait since his coronation is especially iconic. Taken by Hugo Burnand at Buckingham Palace, it shows King Charles sitting in the Throne Room in his ceremonial robes, holding the historic orb and scepter. Hugo took several other significant snaps of the royals on the day too, including one where Princess Anne’s coronation portrait position next to her older brother was apparently “no accident”. 

But King Charles’ coronation portrait reportedly had a very specific focus of its own. Getting candid with OK!, the photographer explained simply, “That is the Throne Room. That is the King. That is who you’re getting, there’s no fantasy.”

He also compared his very “real” work with the stunning official coronation portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth taken by Cecil Beaton in 1953. Describing the then-25-year-old Queen as a “starlet”, he suggested that he approached King Charles’ coronation portrait in such a way as to show his “dedication”. 

“It’s very different from Cecil Beaton, who had the 25-year-old starlet who was beautiful and you could photograph in any light from any angle and would literally sparkle,” he declared. “I wanted to show you the real man at the end of a really long day, still showing his dedication to duty.”

However, whilst Hugo seems to be delighted with the final result of his hard-work there was apparently one regret he had when it came to King Charles’ official portrait.

The photographer shared that “one of the rules” he’d set himself was to try and capture his own reflection in His Majesty’s orb but abandoned this in favor of being “authentic”.

He said, “I had to get myself in the job. But I took the shot on quite a long lens and I was so far away, so I thought, ‘I just have to get over that personal ambition. The only way I can get in there is by cheating.’ And the reason why I like these photographs is because they are authentic.”

Whilst Hugo might’ve sadly had to give up on his “ambition” to appear in this important picture, the authenticity and clear message sent by King Charles’ coronation portrait shines through.

He was also said to be incredibly kind to the photographer and his team, as Hugo teared up reflecting upon the King’s response to him.

“The kindness the royal family – and especially King Charles - showed me and my team during this entire shoot was phenomenal. He’s really, really special,” he declared.

The coronation wasn’t the first time the photographer had taken such impactful portraits of the Royal Family. He’d previously taken not only King Charles and Queen Camilla’s wedding pictures but Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding pictures too, showcasing his skill at capturing some of the most iconic royal portraits for the past few decades.