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A new portrait of King Charles in military uniform has been released by Buckingham Palace to mark Armed Forces Day on Saturday.
The commemorative event is held annually on the last Saturday of June for the country to show its support for veterans, service families, cadets and those still serving.
The new photograph was taken last November in the Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle by Hugo Burnand – who took Their Majesties’ Coronation portraits.
Charles, who is head of the Armed Forces, is pictured sitting on a chair, wearing his Field Marshal No 1 full ceremonial frock coat with medals, sword and a host of decorations.
His Field Marshal cap, white gloves and Field Marshal baton are on the table to his right, while he holds a sword with his left hand.
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In detail, King Charles wears:
• The collar of the Most Noble Order of the Garter with the Sovereign’s Greater George: The collar is made of pure gold and weighs close to 1kg. It features 21 garters encircling a Tudor rose, with the motto of the order “Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense (The shame be his who thinks ill of it)”. The garters alternate with gold heraldic knots all around, while suspended from the collar is The Great George, a figure of St George the Martyr on horseback slaying a dragon.
• The sash of the Royal Victorian Order: The Royal Victorian Order, founded by Queen Victoria in 1896, is awarded to distinguish those who have served the monarchy or members of the Royal Family. Charles’s blue sash passes from his right shoulder to the left hip, where the badge is suspended from.
• The Star of the Order of the Garter: The star is pinned on the left side of the King’s breast and depicts the heraldic shield of St George’s Cross, encircled by the Garter, which is itself encircled by an eight-point silver badge.
• The Star of the Order of the Thistle: The star is pinned below the one of the Order of the Garter on the King’s left side and features a silver St Andrew’s saltire, with clusters of rays between the arms, while in the circle a thistle on a gold field is depicted.
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• The Order of Merit: The badge is an 8-pointed cross of red and blue enamel surmounted by the Imperial Crown. In the centre, the words “For Merit” are surrounded by a laurel wreath upon blue enamel. Its badge is suspended by a ring attached to the top of the crown, fitted with a gold laurel chased loop through which the red and blue ribbon passes.
• The Royal Victorian Chain: The gold chain features motifs of the Tudor rose, thistle, shamrock, and lotus flower and a crowned cypher of King Edward VII, as well as a gold wreath with a badge suspended from it. The badge itself a white Maltese Cross depicts Victoria’s royal and imperial cypher on a red background, surrounded by a crown-surmounted blue ring bearing the word Victoria.
• The Sovereign’s badge of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath: The badge features three crowns with the motto “Tria juncta in uno (Three joined in one)” and the words “Ich dien (I serve)”. Ich dien (older German for ‘I serve’) in gold letters
• Medal bar: The King wears a full medal bar pinned to the left-hand side of his uniform. These include from left to right: Queen’s Service Order, Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, Gold Jubilee Medal, Diamond Jubilee Medal, Platinum Jubilee Medal, Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Canadian Forces Decoration, New Zealand Commemorative medal, New Zealand Armed Forces Award.
