The King has pulled a painting hung at the royal family's Sandringham estate, sources have claimed.
The group portrait, which captures several senior members of the family including the late-Queen and Queen Mother during a gathering in late 1997, had been hung at the Norfolk estate. Painted by Andrew Festing, it was commissioned to mark Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh's golden wedding anniversary, with the former monarch said to have been extremely fond of it.
However, palace sources have said that fondness was not shared by the now King Charles, who is pictured giving a speech in the scene and is said to have ordered it be taken down from display. In the image, Charles cuts a sullen and sad figure, as he makes a toast to his parents on the milestone mark for what would turn out to be a 74-year marriage.
Andrew Festing's portrait has been removed from where it was hung at Sandringham (by Andrew Festing)Also seen in the painting are the Princess Royal, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, as well as several other foreign monarchs and dignitaries. The gathering in the picture happened several weeks after news of Princess Diana's death, and sources said it reminds him of an extremely difficult year.
“He didn’t like it. It was an unwelcome reminder of one of the worst years of his life,” a source told the MailOnline. The gathering took place on November 20, 1997, nearly three months after his former wife Diana was killed alongside Dodi al-Fayed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.
Meghan Markle 'to unleash her own memoirs' as Prince Harry's drops next week
A royal source added: “From time to time, displays on the visitor route at Sandringham are adapted.” The anniversary in question is when Queen Elizabeth paid tribute to her husband, famously describing him as "my strength and stay".
Artist Andrew Festing was educated at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire and attended RMA Sandhurst, after which he served in The Rifle Brigade. He has painted several other high-profile portraits, including of the Queen in 2005.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
