The bizarre reason the Queen was missing from Charles' 70th birthday photos

To mark the Prince of Wales’ milestone 70th birthday, two adorable family portraits were released by Clarence House.

In the photographs, Prince Charles was joined by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and baby Prince Louis, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

However, it wasn’t a full royal family affair as the Queen, nor her husband Prince Philip were present in the photographs and the reason why is slightly bizarre.

Prince Charles apparently had to be the most senior royal in the photo, and it’s all down to royal etiquette.

“The main reason is that it’s Prince Charles’ birthday portrait, so he should be the most senior member of the royal family to appear in it,” royal correspondent, Duncan Larcombe, told Harper’s Bazaar.

“There’s also more evidence than ever that there’s a conscious effort to start pushing Charles to the front as he takes on a more prominent role.”

Is Prince Charles getting ready to take over from the Queen?

In recent years, the Queen has slowly started to pull back on public engagements, offering up more responsibility to the heir to the throne, Prince Charles.

Last year, royal correspondent for The Express, Richard Palmer revealed “the winds of change are sweeping through palace corridors”.

So, at 92-years-old, could Her Majesty be considering it might be time to pass the reins over to Charles?

According to royal correspondent Robert Jobson, it’s a definite possibility.

“I understand the Queen has given the matter considerable though and believes that, if she is still alive at 95, she will seriously consider passing the reign to Charles,” Jobson previously told the Mail on Sunday.

Will the Queen officially abdicate?

While Charles most certainly is taking on more of his mother’s responsibility, there is still a question mark as to whether the Queen will officially abdicate.

A royal insider allegedly told the Daily Star last year when she turns 95, the Queen is to “request for Charles to become King all but in name”.

The publication reported this means Charles could be set to become Prince Regent.

The Queen would still officially be head of state, it would be just mean the monarch – like her husband Prince Philip did last year, officially retiring – would be taking a huge step back from public life.

“We have absolutely no comment,” a Buckingham Palace representative said when the outlet contacted them for a statement.

It’s hard to picture the British monarchy without the Queen as she has been such a massive figurehead, through a major period of change in history.

However, she has worked hard for 66 years so we can understand why she wants to relax and put her feet up, hopefully with a glass of wine as her son takes on the crown.

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