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‘The Crown’ Boss on Critiques of Diana’s “Ghost” and Return of Claire Foy, Olivia Colman in Series Finale

“It felt like a beautifully intended tribute to say goodbye, goodbye to our show, goodbye to our story, and goodbye to [Queen Elizabeth],” says Suzanne Mackie of the last scene in the final episode of the Netflix drama.

By Brande Victorian

Brande Victorian

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[This story contains spoilers from the series finale of The Crown .]

The final six episodes of The Crown have arrived on Netflix , concluding a decade of work that culminated in the fictionalized retelling of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign over the United Kingdom.

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“Peter knew right at the beginning, 10 years ago, that it would be 2005,” executive producer Suzanne Mackie told The Hollywood Reporter in a previous interview . “He always said, ‘I want to end around the time when Camilla and Charles got married.’”

In closing out the complex love story of the future King and Queen, the series sets the stage for the chronicling of the next successors to the throne, Prince William (Ed McVey) and Catherine Middleton (Meg Bellamy) , whose budding romance is explored in part two of the final season of the fictionalized drama.

“In a way, what we were trying to do by reconciling Kate and William at the end of episode nine, was then have the final reconciliation, if you like, between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, in that they would finally be allowed to marry,” Mackie tells THR in the follow-up conversation below about the final episodes. “Those couples coming together felt like a beautiful end to our story. That, in a way, peace is restored to the land.”

“That felt like a profound note to end on, that there was something very simple and dignified and gracious, not least because, of course, in the time of Peter writing it, we didn’t know that the Queen would die, and of course she did,” explains Mackie. “So it also felt like a beautifully intended tribute to her to say goodbye, goodbye to our show, goodbye to our story and goodbye to her.”

What was the biggest challenge about not repeating what Peter Morgan already did with The Queen when it came to part one of this final season, and how do you think you achieved that in telling Princess Diana’s story ?

The Al-Fayeds became a very important part of our landscape for the final two seasons because, in many ways, the Al-Fayeds were a dynasty themselves and a family. And in the end, The Crown is a family drama, so you’re colliding two very high-profile, very dynamic, rich, wealthy, privileged families, and all the dysfunction that goes with that. That suddenly felt really interesting and that was the perspective that Peter had found that felt very different to anything he’d examined in the film The Queen . But then when it actually came to telling the story, I think he felt he knew he needed to explore why the Queen didn’t immediately rush down to London to accept or embrace the public hysteria, that she withheld from it. And I think that, in the end, was something he wanted to explore again. It was an interesting journey.

Are there any critical reactions to part one that you’d like to respond to or clear up?

Peter wrote it very spontaneously. I remember it so well, where we were and what I was doing, and he shared it with a couple of us, and I read it in the spirit of what I think was intended. It was Prince Charles having a conversation out of sheer guilt and the intensity of shock. He almost wanted Prince Charles to be able to say, “I’m sorry,” and “goodbye.” So I understood what Peter was writing. I think we all understood it, and certainly the actors understood it.

I think somehow the word “ghost” was misunderstood and it therefore would be very easy to think, “well, that’s a bit of a cheap gimmick,” and yet it was so the opposite. It was written from a place of deep connection to Peter, who has lots of this experienced grief. Peter always writes from a very deep place within himself. He never writes casually; he never writes superficially. It’s always very connected into something he would feel profoundly aware of. So it felt like we were having our nose rubbed into something that wasn’t intended.

When I spoke with Annie Sulzberger , she said she didn’t feel it was her right to pass on any feedback from the royal family on the series. Have you received any response that you’d be open to sharing, either from them or the Spencer family?

Harry has been forthcoming about The Crown , but this second part really focuses on William. How do you imagine he might react to that spotlight being placed on him?

I remember, again, a moment where Peter wanted to start talking about the boys. And when you think about the fact that The Crown is actually about the crown and the destiny of the line of descension from the Queen to Prince Charles, to Prince William, and, looking even beyond that, to Prince George, that they are the future Kings of England, what does that mean? How does that affect you knowing that you are next? And of course, what he also wanted to examine, to an extent, was history repeating itself. We set that up in season one with the brothers, with the King and the abdication, and the brother happened to become the king because his brother had abdicated for love and how hard that was, and the burden of the crown, the duty that you can’t lead the normal life you might’ve led. And that repeated itself again with Margaret and Elizabeth in a sense of the heir and the spare. And that one, by accent of birth, is in line to throne, and the crown lands on their head, not on the sibling’s head, and what’s that duty to you? And to an extent, that was slightly explored with Prince Charles and Princess Anne, but it was very much there to be deconstructed again with Harry and William.

It felt really lovely and fresh to be able to explore William as the future king that one day will be wearing the crown, and how he has to recalibrate and pick himself up from the devastation of losing his mother at such a young age and recover from it and that meeting Kate at university felt like a beautiful new, fresh start in his life. It therefore felt like a beautiful, fresh new start for the second and final part of our story. In a way, what we were trying to do by reconciling Kate and William at the end of episode nine, was then have the final reconciliation, if you like, between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, in that they would finally be allowed to marry. Those couples coming together felt like a beautiful end to our story. That, in a way, peace is restored to the land.

There’s a great deal of interest in seeing how William and Kate’s relationship is explored. Can you talk about the research that went into getting that right? One of the things that struck me was Kate’s mother’s role in sort of orchestrating their initial connection.

Episode nine, “Hope Street,” heavily delves into the inquisition around Dodi and Diana’s death . How crucial were the results of that investigation to not only clearing up the allegation of blame against the royal family, but in guiding the storylines in this last season overall?

The Stevens inquiry is a really important story that, in many ways, I needed to be reminded of, because I remember at the time of Diana’s death there was such a blaming of the press and paparazzi that felt a bit disproportionate, if I dare say. There’s no doubt that she was hounded, but the truth was that the security protocol for her was lacking, to say the very least. They changed their mind too many times, and that was the biggest mistake they made, coupled with the biggest contributor, which is that the driver was over the limit. I think we undersold that in the episode. He was so over the limit. It’s staggering when you read about it, and we read every book, every letter, every article. When you look at the pieces of that final day of her life, it’s shocking actually. I remember reading a very good account of exactly what happened, and apparently the car went by so fast, it almost left the ground. He was drunk and they weren’t wearing seat belts and it was, in the end, tragic.

Olivia Williams is a fantastic actress. She was a great choice for Camilla, and she plays it beautifully. She loves Camilla, and she thinks Camilla, as we do, is very earthy and warm and fun and quite real and good for Charles — frankly, very good for him — and that they loved each other. I think that in the past, particularly after Diana’s death, the press were quite cruel to her and cruel about her. There felt like a conspicuous sort of not wanting to accept her and a brittle attitude towards her, which I think must’ve been very hard. So I think Peter wanted to illustrate how steadfast she’d been and how she hadn’t ever tried to create publicity around her. She just quietly waited and was very patient. But after Diana’s death, I think the love for Diana was so vivid and big, the sentiment was, how could you possibly feel a regard for Camilla? Which is hard and unfair, because it’s not her fault.

In the final episode we also see the Queen grappling with potentially stepping down and allowing Prince Charles to assume the monarchy. What evidence shaped that story arc?

That is very much a moment of Peter Morgan’s, again, dramatist imagination. Of course, she would never have that conversation with anyone else, and she didn’t. We deliberately, very consciously didn’t let that happen because she wouldn’t, that would be disingenuous and doing her a disservice. She would never abdicate. Of course she wouldn’t. Her duty and her pledge was to serve till the day she died, and that’s what she did. She did it beautifully.

What was it like bringing Olivia Colman and Claire Foy back for those moments and having all three of your queens on set together?

It was amazing. In fact, we were there together for the very final moment of episode 10 when the queen walks the length of the hall. We were in York Minster, which was an extraordinary moment, and we only had one minute left to film. If we’d gone over, it would’ve been expensive, frankly, and it was a technically difficult shot to get. I could feel Claire and Olivia behind me watching the monitor, as we anxiously knew we only had one more minute, so we had to get it. And at the end of it, we all just knew we had got it. All the stars had aligned at that moment. It felt very pure and very moving and a sort of tremendous spectacle in so far as the building we were in. It was so magisterial and beautiful and awe-inspiring, but at the same time, it was a very intimate moment with the queen, a very solitary moment. A very still moment.

Peter Morgan told the New York Times , he’s surprised he sustained doing The Crown , saying, “He loves it, but it was overwhelming.” How will you look back on this time and is there a world where you see a spinoff or something else down the line?

It’s been, no doubt, probably the high point of my career. Working with Peter and all the directors and the actors, everyone is their very best. The quality of work is A-list. It’s pedigree. To be able to work alongside them you up your own game. I feel I’ve upped my own game, but I also feel I’ve come into my own as a producer in terms of how I am with cast and crew, and how I feel very protective of the writing and giving people that creative freedom and safeguarding that, and also handling Netflix and making sure that we’re working together as a partnership. I’ve really enjoyed that relationship. So everyone, I feel, has grown and become their best self.

How do you think The Crown has changed the TV landscape and do you think there’ll continue to be a space for this type of prestige, long-form content, particularly post-strike?

I hope so. When we started The Crown , Netflix was still, in many ways, in its infancy and the notion of being able to watch all 10 episodes in one go was very alien. Now when you don’t have the opportunity, it feels unimaginable. And this sort of cinematic television, which we, in a rather blasé way, coined it, is an intensity of storytelling. It’s not just the budget. And I would say that there’s room for big prestige television like The Crown or Succession or other big bossy television that’s very epic and full of stars and A-listers. But alongside that, I hope for, and certainly would want to be part of, dramas that are new voices and lower budget and feel very independent and fresh and of the moment. I believe that the television landscape has room for both, and they co-exist and they sit alongside each other really beautifully. Some of the best things I’ve seen over the last few years have been on the BBC and they’ve been written by someone I’ve never heard of before and you go, “ That’s powerful.”

The Crown season six is now streaming on Netflix.

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‘The Crown’ ends with Charles and Camilla’s wedding and an emotional farewell to Queen Elizabeth II

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After six seasons and three casts, “ The Crown ” has come to a close. The ending has been in creator Peter Morgan’s mind since the beginning, although it shifted slightly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Producer Suzanne Mackie remembers Morgan telling her 10 years ago that he wanted to end the series in 2005, the year Charles, Prince of Wales finally married Camilla Parker Bowles.

“There was something really special about it,” Mackie says of the wedding, which took place on April 9, 2005. “It felt like peace had been restored to the land after tumultuous times — the tragic death of Diana and lots of divorcing children and the fire at Windsor . It felt like a beautiful end chapter.”

The finale, “Sleep, Dearie, Sleep,” directed by Stephen Daldry , uses the proposal and the wedding as a backdrop for several conclusive scenes. The queen (Imelda Staunton) considers her position, questioning whether she should abdicate the throne for her son on the occasion of his marriage. She and Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) also begin to plan their funerals, which results in a contemplative final moment for the queen.

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“The final episode is not really about the Charles/Camilla wedding,” Morgan said, writing via email. “That was just an event or a pretext for us to play the main drama against. The real drama is an internal one for the queen as she wrestles with her conscience about whether to step down in favor of a resolved and happy Charles.”

While the ending itself is bittersweet, the series creatives liked the idea of concluding “The Crown” on a relatively positive note.

“Although it’s an extraordinary family and a world that most of us don’t know or understand, they are a family,” Mackie says of the British royals. “And that family was brought together by a happy, celebratory event and two people who loved each other getting married and making vows in front of the country.”

For Dominic West, who has played Charles for two seasons, it felt full circle.

“‘The Crown’ is about the three people who are wearing or are going to wear the crown, which is Elizabeth, Charles and William,” he says. “It had to round off Charles’ story, particularly after showing Diana’s tragedy in such detail. The wedding was a great way of letting us see the reality of it. But actually where it ends is, of course, is back with Elizabeth on her knees in that church praying, which is pretty much how it began.”

The proposal

There is no documentation of Charles’ proposal to Camilla. The scene was originally written to take place in a rose garden, but Olivia Williams, who plays Camilla, suggested setting it in the potting shed instead.

“I did some dodgy bit of research where during lockdown she and Charles had an informal competition as to who could grow the best vegetables,” Williams says. “I did actually push for mucking out the stables, but that has already been done in that episode by the queen.”

West, who calls the proposal scene “totally imagined,” credits Williams with the idea of Camilla listening to BBC Radio 4 show “ The Archers ” while smoking when Charles arrives.

“Olivia set the scene for that,” West says. “I think Peter rather liked the fact that Charles would kneel down in the dirt of the potting shed and ask her to marry him. There’s something intensely moving about their middle-aged love.”

The actor also recalls shooting “endless scenes of him running through gardens to try to find her.”

“We went to three different gardens,” West says, laughing. “But I noticed that ended up on the cutting room floor.”

The perception

On Feb. 10, 2005, the palace announced that Charles would marry Camilla at Windsor Castle. Although it was now several years after Diana’s death, the British people were divided.

“When they announced their engagement there was a sense that times were changing and, yes, he should be with the woman he loved,” says royal writer Kerry Parnell, who helms the newsletter the Royal List . “But the overriding issue that was in all the newspapers at the time was what would Camilla be called? There was a lot of debate about whether she would be queen one day.”

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Melanie Bromley, a former news correspondent for E!, recalls that the upset over Camilla and Diana created a “public soap opera.” But there was a sense that Charles deserved happiness.

“This was a love story that had endured 30 years,” Bromley says. “It didn’t matter whether there was going to be public opposition or people disagreed or the papers had a criticism over it because, actually, he loved her.”

The royal family has always married in religious ceremonies, but Charles and Camilla were both divorced, so it was agreed they would have a civil ceremony at the registry office followed by a service of prayer and dedication. At the time, it was a big deal for the future king to marry a divorced woman. (More recently, Prince Harry did it without issue, notably in a religious ceremony.)

“It’s funny how 20 years is a long time and it’s no time at all,” Williams says. “I think the Church of England were desperately trying to hang on to some sort of moral position on divorce.”

Williams and Morgan both wanted to showcase Camilla’s dignity despite all the drama.

“Peter wanted to portray her as someone that had been very steadfast in her quiet dedication to Charles and in her devotion,” Mackie says. “She kept her head down and Peter really wanted to capture that.”

“When she became queen, everyone turned around and went, ‘Oh, my God, what a journey she’s come on,’” Williams adds. “Speaking as an actor, others got more thrilling things to do. But I do think my character had the biggest arc of the show from Gloucester housewife to queen of England.”

The ceremony

The wedding scenes were shot in May, at the tail end of production on “The Crown.” The town of Rochester, England, stood in for Windsor, where Charles and Camilla had a civil ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall . The York Minster was used as St. George’s Chapel for both the service of prayer and for the final reflective moments with Queen Elizabeth II.

“I knew we’d end on the wedding,” West says. “But I didn’t know we were going to be in the York Minster with 400 extras and an orchestra and a full choir and 30 ornamental cherry trees and me and Olivia Williams processing down the aisle and 400 people bowing to us.”

Williams adds that in real life, she was married above an Italian restaurant on Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End of London, so it was a “thrill” to marry West in York Minster.

“It was an incredibly grand occasion and an amazing thing to shoot,” she says. “Every time Dominic and I moved anywhere, the orchestra would start playing Handel’s ‘Water Music.’”

As the episode depicts, a crowd gathered in Windsor on the day of the wedding. Bromley says that while it was “very pared down,” there were still around 20,000 people there.

“It was much more low key, but people were still very happy for him and happy he had found his real fairy tale romance,” Bromley says.

The princes really did arrive to the ceremony by bus and, despite the crowd, there was much less fanfare compared to other royal weddings, especially Charles’ first marriage.

“That came from the palace because they knew it wouldn’t be appropriate,” Parnell says. “Charles and Diana’s wedding was the fairy tale wedding to end all weddings. It was enormous — the scale of it, the size of her dress, everything. So they didn’t want to do anything to compete with that in any way.”

Mackie adds that while it didn’t feel as grand, it was “intimate and very real.” “It felt maybe closer to the rest of us,” she says.

The moment where Charles and Camilla emerge from the Guildhall onto the street of Windsor was the last scene ever filmed for “The Crown.” Williams says it was a “euphoric moment,” both for the actors and the crew, many of whom had worked on the series for 10 years.

“There was a jazz band playing and 400 extras waving their flags,” West adds. “As soon as they said ‘cut’ we all started dancing. It was an incredibly celebratory feeling and a wonderful way to end.”

The celebration

During the real-life reception, the queen gave a speech to celebrate Charles and Camilla. While there isn’t footage of the actual speech, observers have recounted its humor. In the episode, it’s suggested that the monarch was wrestling with whether to abdicate the throne and announce Charles as her successor at the wedding, but there’s no historical evidence to suggest that was true.

“It’s fair to say it’s more thematic,” Mackie says. “It’s a very private dilemma that we imagine any human being would face, so it was an imaginary internal conversation. I think Peter just wanted to have it as a theme to wrestle with. Because it is interesting when you have a very eager and healthy and brilliant young man that is Prince Charles eagerly waiting to become king.”

The speech Staunton gives, which begins with her announcing the results of the Grand National horse race, was written by Morgan.

“You do feel that’s the sort of speech she probably gave,” West says. “I thought that was a brilliantly written and brilliantly performed scene by Imelda. It was Peter at his most imaginative. If she were to have done that it wouldn’t have been in a public place. But that wouldn’t have been nearly as dramatic.”

During the speech, the queen offers Camilla her blessing and acceptance. That moment mirrors the attitude of the country after the wedding.

“It was a very significant step on the path of rehabilitation to Camilla,” Parnell says of the event. “They must have been immensely relieved. And Camilla is really loved now.”

The farewell

Queen Elizabeth II died in the middle of production on the final season, so it was inevitable that her death would impact the ending. Mackie says the team had provisions in place to pause shooting when the death was announced. But on the day of the queen’s funeral, production paused again.

Many of the cast members and crew gathered to watch the proceedings. Everyone was struck by the lone bagpiper in the gallery at Westminster Abbey, which Mackie calls the “most exquisite, simple, beautiful, poetic thing I’d ever heard and seen.”

“We knew we had to somehow harness that and bring it into the end of the episode,” Mackie says. “I don’t think it felt engineered so much as deeply felt.”

After Charles and Camilla get their happy ending, the queen lingers in St. George’s Chapel. She reflects on her duty and imagines her funeral before exiting in a dramatic haze of light. Also making an appearance are Olivia Colman and Claire Foy, who played younger versions of the queen in the series.

West, who says Morgan didn’t write the finale until after the queen’s death, was deeply moved by the bagpipe player in the episode, which takes its name from the song he performs.

“It’s an incredibly moving moment,” West says, wiping away tears as he speaks. “I’m not particularly into the queen, but I can’t stop crying. It was really, really beautiful. Peter is such a magpie for a great, telling piece of theater. And Daldry has this great instinct for tugging on our heart strings. That piper did it for me.”

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'The Crown' ends with an emotional, if odd, series finale featuring all 3 incarnations of Queen Elizabeth II

• Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the series finale of Netflix's "The Crown."
• After six seasons, the British royal drama draws to a close with an emotional ending.
• The finale sees Imelda Staunton's Queen reflect on her life and Olivia Colman and Claire Foy return.

Netflix's Emmy award-winning royal drama " The Crown " has drawn to a close.

Creator Peter Morgan's sumptuous reimagining of Queen Elizabeth II's lifelong reign first launched, and became the hot topic of watercooler conversations, back in 2016.

Across six seasons and three cast changeovers, it has tracked the life of the late British monarch who died last year after a record-breaking 70 years on the throne.

So it's only fitting that the series finale, which is now available to stream on Netflix, looks back on the journey that the series' fictional take on the Queen has gone through over the years, inviting back previous lead stars Claire Foy and Olivia Colman for the sendoff.

The final episode sees the Queen have difficult conversations with younger versions of herself

The last episode of "The Crown" takes place in 2005 as the Queen takes stock of her life.

On the cusp of 80, the monarch is reeling from the devastating loss of both her mother and her beloved sister, Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville).

She's also forced to look to the future, confronted with the decision to allow the then-Prince Charles (Dominic West) to remarry so that the future King of England isn't living in "sin."

Finally, the Queen can't escape just how popular her grandson and future heir, Prince William (Ed McVey), is with the public — nor the popularity of British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel).

The Queen's torment over where she fits into a world that seems ready to leave her behind manifests itself in imagined conversations with younger versions of herself.

Related stories

First, a 40-something apparition (played by Olivia Colman) appears when she's dressing her horses and urges her that "stepping down is the right thing to do, as Queen and as a mother."

Later, after the Queen has seemingly come around to this way of thinking and written a speech for Charles' wedding day that announces her abdication, another past self appears. It is the dutiful 25-year-old she was when she first wore the crown.

This Elizabeth (Claire Foy) tells her that despite her age, the Queen is still fit enough to lead the country. "Monarchy is something you are, not what you do," she sternly tells her older self.

In the end, it's this Elizabeth that wins out. When the Queen takes the stage to deliver a speech on Charles' wedding day, the guests wait with bated breath for the announcement they have all heard rumors about.

The Queen discards her rehearsed abdication speech and instead leaves the crowd in stitches with a series of good-natured jokes about her son's wedding.

The Queen sees her own funeral take place

In the series' final moments, the Queen finds herself standing alone in Charles and Camilla's wedding venue, St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Without the revelers, the chapel (where the real Queen was laid to rest last year) takes on an eerie atmosphere, which is only amplified when "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep" — the bagpipe lament that gives the episode its title — begins to play.

All of a sudden, the Queen sees her future — and her demise.

A coffin bearing her crown jewels appears before her, and the Queen determines that she will indeed fulfill the oath she took on the day of her coronation. She will devote her life to the service of the British people, and die with the title of Queen still hers.

And then a final ghost appears — the teenage version of herself who was brimming with possibility and promise. The Elizabeth she put aside. With a salute of approval from the World War II uniform-clad youngster, the Queen turns to leave the chapel.

Flanked by the other versions of herself (Foy and Colman), she then walks out of the chapel and toward the bright light lying just beyond its doors.

"The Crown" is available on Netflix.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

Watch: Queen Elizabeth dies at age 96 — we look back at her 70-year reign

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The Crown's “Annus Horribilis” Speech Is Wildly Different From Reality

There are some things that Queen Elizabeth did not in fact say.

Over the years, The Crown has been the subject of a lot of discussion around its portrayal of the royal family and events throughout history. While the show is meant to be a dramatisation of real-life events, viewers tend to be left curious as to what’s fact and what’s fiction, and Season 5 has been embroiled in some controversies as a result. Prior to its release, former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major condemned the show, with Major calling it “ malicious fiction .”

However, one of the most evident shifts away from fact is the show’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth’s historic “Annus horribilis” speech from 1992. The monarch marked 40 years since her ascension to the throne by delivering a speech at Guildhall and this is captured in the fourth episode of Season 5. In that year, three of her four children got divorced or separated, whilst Windsor Castle had also caught fire , making it a terrible period for the royal family.

Whilst both speeches begin by acknowledging the obstacles that the year brought, from then on it progresses in pretty opposing directions. In reality, the Queen’s speech addressed the difficulty the royal family faced and thanked the public for their continued support .“This generosity and whole-hearted kindness of the Corporation of the City to Prince Philip and me would be welcome at any time, but at this particular moment, in the aftermath of Friday's tragic fire at Windsor, it is especially so,” the monarch said.

But in the series, Imelda Staunton (who plays the Queen in S5) reads an edited version that excludes the gratitude to the public and instead, commemorates the royal family. “Today, I'd like to pay tribute, if I may, to my family. Throughout the four decades I have been on the throne they have quite literally been my sun and water. For all the sacrifices they have made, indeed, to all of you here whose prayers and well-wishes have been a source of strength to me these last forty years, I say thank you.”

This makes a significant difference to the consequence and mood of the momentous speech. In 1992, the Queen wondered how future generations would look at that tumultuous period saying, “I dare say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than that of some contemporary commentators.” But in Netflix’s iteration, Staunton talks about past mistakes.

“The high standards we in the monarchy are held to by the public must be the same benchmark to which we hold ourselves personally. If we can't admit the errors of our past, what hope for reconciliation can there be?” she says in The Crown .

Additionally, the Queen’s real speech admires how effective the City has been in processing change. “ You have set an example of how it is possible to remain effective and dynamic without losing those indefinable qualities, style, and character. We only have to look around this great hall to see the truth of that.” The fictional depiction does not pay much heed to the City as an institution and misses this element in Staunton’s speech.

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A Guide to the Queen’s Speech: Crown Jewels, Black Rod and a Mace

Proceedings in the British Parliament on Monday are a nod to hundreds of years of history. But Brexit loomed over the ceremonies.

By Megan Specia and Allison McCann

LONDON — A “hostage,” a search for explosives, heaps of royal jewels and a five-foot silver gilt mace . Welcome to the reopening of Britain’s Parliament, replete with ancient traditions and elaborate rituals, and infused with tension over the country’s looming exit from the European Union.

The restart of government business on Monday started with a speech by Queen Elizabeth II, a significant ceremonial duty that set out the government’s agenda. It paved the way for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempts to navigate the Brexit deadline, Oct. 31, to be back at center stage as lawmakers return to Westminster to pick apart his manifesto.

Hours of royal pomp and stagecraft played out in the halls of Parliament as the queen and her entourage made an elaborate guest appearance at Britain’s government buildings.

The opening was rife with ceremony and symbolism, all of it steeped in history — with some elements dating back to the Middle Ages. Here is a guide.

A Gaslit Hunt for Explosives

Some elements of Parliament’s reopening happen behind the scenes, including a ceremonial search of the cellars of government buildings for explosives.

Before the queen’s arrival, her guards, decked out in royal red, trekked down to the cellars, gas lamps in hand. Based on historical precedent, the tradition is a nod to the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes and his Catholic collaborators to blow up Parliament and, with it, King James I, a Protestant.

Then there is the hostage taking.

A member of Parliament was ceremonially held hostage in Buckingham Palace while the queen visits Westminster, just in case the lawmakers decided not to return her.

This is rooted in the 1600s, when the relationship between Parliament and the monarchy was particularly fraught under Charles I. (He was eventually beheaded at the end of a civil war.)

A Royal Entrance

The queen paraded from her home in Buckingham Palace through the streets of London to the government buildings at Westminster in a horse-drawn carriage escorted by the Household Cavalry, who serve as her mounted bodyguards.

The Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Great Sword of State arrived in their own carriage.

The monarch pulled up to a special passageway — a looming archway known as the Sovereign’s Entrance — that’s reserved just for her.

The Queen’s Royal Threads

Then it was time for a costume change. The monarch headed into the elaborate Robing Room, and emerged wearing the Robe of State, an 18-foot red velvet cape.

Typically, she would also wear the Imperial State Crown, encrusted with 2,868 diamonds and hundreds of other jewels, including 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls. Think bling.

It must be heavy, particularly for the 93-year-old monarch. That may be part of the reason she wore the smaller Diamond Diadem instead, though the Imperial State Crown was placed beside her.

Elizabeth is an expert in opening Parliament, having conducted the ceremony dozens of times throughout her reign. The exceptions were in 1959, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew, and in 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Edward.

Once fully kitted out, she led a procession on the arm of her son Prince Charles through the Royal Gallery, packed with 600 guests, to the chamber of the House of Lords. The Great Sword of State and the Cap of Maintenance, symbols of sovereign power and authority, were carried in front of the queen by two peers. The queen then sat on the throne in the Lords’ Chamber and waited for her remaining audience to arrive.

Slamming the Door in Black Rod’s Face

Sarah Clarke, the jauntily dressed House of Lords official known as the Usher of the Black Rod, named for the black stick that she wields, was then sent from the Lords’ Chamber to summon the lawmakers in the House of Commons.

On approach, the speaker of the House of Commons then — ceremoniously, of course — slammed the door in her face.

This tradition, which dates from the English Civil War of the 1600s, symbolizes the lawmaking body’s independence from the monarchy. After three strikes on the door, Black Rod — who was appointed Lady Usher in November 2017 and took up her duties early the following year — was let in, along with a procession of lawmakers, to listen to the queen’s speech.

Accompanying her was the sergeant-at-arms, whose role dates from the 1400s, carrying the mace : a five-foot, silver-gilt ornamental staff that represents the royal authority of the crown and dates from at least 1559 .

The Queen’s Speech

Then it was time for the main event.

From atop a throne in the House of Lords, the queen set out the agenda and legislative policies of Mr. Johnson’s Conservative Party, typically a formality. She spoke around 11:30 a.m. local time.

The Sovereign’s Throne — elaborately carved wood, gilded, set with crystals and upholstered in royal red velvet — was constructed and designed in 1847. It is based on a throne from 1308 that sits nearby in Westminster Abbey.

The speech, and the aftermath, promised to be anything but routine.

Mr. Johnson lost his majority in Parliament in September after expelling 21 Conservative lawmakers . Legislators had seized control of Parliament, fearful that he was on a path to crash Britain out of the European Union without a deal. The nation’s highest court rebuked him for suspending Parliament unlawfully in his drive to pull the country out of the bloc. Another election is likely sooner rather than later.

So members of Parliament are now likely to pounce on the government’s road map and deny him an affirmative vote.

An earlier version of this article misidentified which crown Queen Elizabeth II wore during her speech. It was the Diamond Diadem, not the Imperial State Crown.

How we handle corrections

Megan Specia is a story editor on the International Desk, specializing in digital storytelling and breaking news. More about Megan Specia

Allison McCann is a reporter and graphics editor on the International Desk. She is based in London. More about Allison McCann

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Queen’s Speech: Why does the crown have its own car?

Queen Elizabeth ’s crown has arrived in its own car to the State Opening of Parliament that was carried out by her son Prince Charles.

The diamond-encrusted Imperial State Crown sat on a cushion as it was transported in a vehicle, with only the driver and two other men inside.

The vehicle travelled in a convoy, with three other cars tailing it, to the House of Lords . The other cars were carrying other crown jewels , including at least two ceremonial maces that were so long that they poked out of the windows.

On arrival at the Palaces of Westminster, a white-gloved senior member of the royal household carefully took the crown out of the car and handed it to a uniformed guard that had also been travelling in the vehicle.

Moments later, a car carrying Prince Charles arrives in the same location – ahead of the start of the ceremony that his 96-year-old mother could not partake in due to mobility issues.

But why this spectacle over a crown?

The Imperial State Crown is so valuable as it consists of 2,868 diamonds, 11 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls.

The State Opening of Parliament usually sees the monarch and the crown jewels travelling in horse-drawn carriages.

But the scaled-back plans for the ceremony has seen the mode of transport switch from carriages to limousines.

It appears that the crown is placed in its own carriage or car because only the Lord Great Chamberlain, who travels in the same vehicle, can carry it inside Parliament. He can only touch it by the velvet cushion it sits on.

Only three people are allowed to directly touch the crown. These are the monarch, the Archbishop of Canterbury during the coronation ceremony, and the Crown Jeweller who cleans the crown jewels every January.

When the crown is moved around London, it’s under armed guard protection at all times.

Following the State Opening of Parliament, the crown jewels are returned to the Tower of London.

How often does the Queen wear it?

The Queen usually wears the crown, that weighs about 1kg, every year for the State Opening of Parliament.

Instead, she opts to wear the lighter and smaller George IV State Diadem, while the Imperial State Crown sits next her throne.

In 2018, the Queen said about the weight of the crown: “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break, it would fall off.

“So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.”

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Queen's real 'annus horribilis' speech in full - how her actual words compare to The Crown

The Queen's infamous 'Annus Horribilis' speech features in season five of The Crown - but how accurate is their version of events? We look at her real 1992 speech

• 15:09, 11 Nov 2022

On November 25, 1992, the late Queen gave one of her most infamous speeches. In her address at Guildhall to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession to the throne, she admitted the year wasn't one she would look back on with "undiluted pleasure" and said it was her 'Annus Horribilis'.

The 12 months saw the collapse of three of her children's marriages, including her heir Charles, and a devastating fire at Windsor Castle.

The famous speech is recreated in the latest season of The Crown, which sees actress Imelda Staunton take on the role of the Queen. But with huge controversy around the accuracy of the latest series of the Netflix show, how much of the speech did the late Monarch actually say? Let's take a look...

Queen's 'Annus Horribilis' speech in full

My Lord Mayor,

Could I say, first, how delighted I am that the Lady Mayoress is here today.

This great hall has provided me with some of the most memorable events of my life. The hospitality of the City of London is famous around the world, but nowhere is it more appreciated than among the members of my family. I am deeply grateful that you, my Lord Mayor, and the Corporation, have seen fit to mark the fortieth anniversary of my Accession with this splendid lunch, and by giving me a picture which I will greatly cherish.

Thank you also for inviting representatives of so many organisations with which I and my family have special connections, in some cases stretching back over several generations. To use an expression more common north of the Border, this is a real 'gathering of the clans'.

1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an 'Annus Horribilis'. I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so. Indeed, I suspect that there are very few people or institutions unaffected by these last months of worldwide turmoil and uncertainty. This generosity and whole-hearted kindness of the Corporation of the City to Prince Philip and me would be welcome at any time, but at this particular moment, in the aftermath of Friday's tragic fire at Windsor, it is especially so.

And, after this last weekend, we appreciate all the more what has been set before us today. Years of experience, however, have made us a bit more canny than the lady, less well versed than us in the splendours of City hospitality, who, when she was offered a balloon glass for her brandy, asked for 'only half a glass, please'.

It is possible to have too much of a good thing. A well-meaning Bishop was obviously doing his best when he told Queen Victoria, "Ma'am, we cannot pray too often, nor too fervently, for the Royal Family". The Queen's reply was: "Too fervently, no; too often, yes". I, like Queen Victoria, have always been a believer in that old maxim "moderation in all things".

I sometimes wonder how future generations will judge the events of this tumultuous year. I dare say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than that of some contemporary commentators. Distance is well-known to lend enchantment, even to the less attractive views. After all, it has the inestimable advantage of hindsight.

But it can also lend an extra dimension to judgement, giving it a leavening of moderation and compassion - even of wisdom - that is sometimes lacking in the reactions of those whose task it is in life to offer instant opinions on all things great and small.

No section of the community has all the virtues, neither does any have all the vices. I am quite sure that most people try to do their jobs as best they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful. He who has never failed to reach perfection has a right to be the harshest critic.

There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution - City, Monarchy, whatever - should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don't.

But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one part of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of gentleness, good humour and understanding.

This sort of questioning can also act, and it should do so, as an effective engine for change. The City is a good example of the way the process of change can be incorporated into the stability and continuity of a great institution. I particularly admire, my Lord Mayor, the way in which the City has adapted so nimbly to what the Prayer Book calls "The changes and chances of this mortal life".

You have set an example of how it is possible to remain effective and dynamic without losing those indefinable qualities, style and character. We only have to look around this great hall to see the truth of that.

Forty years is quite a long time. I am glad to have had the chance to witness, and to take part in, many dramatic changes in life in this country. But I am glad to say that the magnificent standard of hospitality given on so many occasions to the Sovereign by the Lord Mayor of London has not changed at all. It is an outward symbol of one other unchanging factor which I value above all - the loyalty given to me and to my family by so many people in this country, and the Commonwealth, throughout my reign.

You, my Lord Mayor, and all those whose prayers - fervent, I hope, but not too frequent - have sustained me through all these years, are friends indeed. Prince Philip and I give you all, wherever you may be, our most humble thanks.

And now I ask you to rise and drink the health of the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London.

MORE ON Commonwealth The Queen Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Victoria of the United Kingdom Royal Family

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Watch CBS News

Who is Queen Camilla? All about King Charles' wife and Britain's new queen

By Haley Ott , Holly Williams , Tucker Reals

Updated on: May 6, 2023 / 6:51 AM EDT / CBS News

London —  Queen Camilla was once described as the most hated woman in Britain. In the 1990s, she was blamed for the breakdown of now- King Charles III 's marriage to the late Princess Diana.

"I mean Camilla was… just inundated by paparazzi, who were pretty hostile, and went through her dust bins, her garbage bins," the soon-to-be queen 's old friend, journalist Petronella Wyatt, told CBS News ahead of Charles and Camilla's May 6 coronation ceremony. "It was a very nasty time."

Things have changed significantly since then, Wyatt said. But there is still some tension with at least some other members of the royal family.

As a royal, Camilla has campaigned against domestic violence, winning plaudits for her compassion, but in his book, "Spare," her stepson Prince Harry accused her of burnishing her own popularity at his expense, even calling her "dangerous."

"I don't think she's entirely surprised, but a little bit hurt, because she was very, very nice to Harry," Wyatt said.

"I think that Camilla will do the job [of queen] brilliantly," Wyatt added. "She's always in a good mood. She's not stroppy and difficult. I think she'll shine quietly, while letting Charles be the star."

When did Charles and Camilla meet?

Camilla Parker Bowles grew up in an aristocratic family and was first romantically linked to Charles in the 1970s. The details of their first encounter have never been made clear, but they moved in the same circles, and various reports suggest they met at a party or a polo match.

But both Camilla and the young prince married other people. 

Charles famously wed Diana Spencer, and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she had two children. He is, according to Britain's Time newspaper, invited to attend the coronation, in which their grandchildren will be participating. 

• Who's on the guest list for King Charles III's coronation?

Camilla's son Tom was born in 1974. King Charles is both his godfather and his step-father. Her daughter, Laura, was born in 1978.

How long have Charles and Camilla been married? 

Public attitudes towards Camilla have changed since the controversies surrounding Charles' relationship with Diana, and Charles and Camilla eventually made their relationship official, getting married in 2005 . It was the first non-religious, civil ceremony ever for a British royal in England.

But Wyatt says marrying into the royal family is not as glamorous as it might appear.

"It's like a prison. It's like a prison with palaces and bad plumbing and bad food," she said. "Most of it is very, very boring. Most of it is… shaking hands with not very interesting people."

What royal title will Camilla have, and why?

Early in 2022, Queen Elizabeth II — clearly wanting no doubt to linger over her intentions — said that when Charles did become king, it was her "sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service" to Britain.

Charles said in a statement that he and Camilla were "deeply conscious of the honor represented by my mother's wish."

Invitations to Charles and Camilla's May 6 coronation then revealed that Camilla would drop the "consort" from her title after the occasion and be known thereafter simply as Queen Camilla.

While the "consort" title has traditionally been used for the spouse of a sitting British monarch, and "queen" alone has generally been used for a king or queen "regnant" — the formal title that conveys political power over the realm — the family can essentially make up its own rules on these matters. 

That's exactly what Charles appears to have done by signaling that Camilla will become simply Queen Camilla upon her coronation — though she will still hold no power as a non-birth member of the royal family, and a non-regnant queen.

What crown will Camilla wear?

On coronation day , Camilla will wear a modified version of the crown made for Queen Mary, who wore it when she and her husband, George V, were crowned in 1911. 

The Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds, from the late Queen Elizabeth II's personal collection, which she often wore as brooches, will be mounted on Queen Mary's Crown for Camilla's big day, instead of a very controversial stone that has featured in previous coronations. 

Buckingham Palace confirmed in February that the Koh-i-Noor diamond would not play a part in King Charles and Camilla's coronation. The large diamond was given to Queen Victoria in 1849, but it is thought to have originated from India, and many Indians consider it a piece of their national history stolen during the reign of the British empire.  

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Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.

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The Real Love Story of Queen Charlotte and King George III That Inspired the Bridgerton Spinoff

The monarchs married in 1761 and had 15 children, but George’s failing health put an end to their wedded bliss.

Although the Bridgerton universe is almost entirely fictional, two characters who are based on real people are set to take center stage in a spinoff origin tale.

Epic or not, the marriage of the real Charlotte and George was filled with high points that showcased their commitment to each other, as well as distressing times of illness—plenty for creator and writer Shonda Rhimes to draw from. Here’s a look inside the lives of one of Britain’s most famous ruling couples.

Married at First Sight

Born on June 4, 1738, George William Frederick wasn’t expected to survive his premature birth. The future King George III did, of course, and three weeks after his father’s death in 1751, his grandfather King George II put the young royal in line to inherit the British throne. The younger—and still single—George succeeded his grandfather in 1760 at age 22, making his search for a wife urgent. He eyed Charlotte, then 17, over other candidates for a couple of key reasons.

Born Princess Sophia Charlotte in 1744 in Mecklenberg-Strelitz, which is now part of Germany, she had good royal credentials and was a Protestant. And, as simple as it sounds, she was sweet and compliant. According to the preservation charity Historic Royal Palaces, George’s advisor Lord Harcourt said Charlotte was “no regular beauty,” but she did have pretty eyes and “white and even teeth.” Not exactly the description you’d expect to inspire a TV romance , but their partnership blossomed.

Their actual courtship lasted all of six hours, as they were married the same day Charlotte reached London: September 8, 1961. The roughly three-week trip at sea was arduous, with the travel party facing multiple storms along the way. Charlotte was so thin from seasickness by the time she arrived that her wedding dress nearly fell off.

Even with George’s eventful reign—the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary wars in the 1790s, and the incorporation of Ireland in 1801 all happened on his watch—the first 25 years of their marriage were generally happy.

A Palace Full of Children and a Musical Bond

George and Charlotte had 15 children , starting with son George Augustus Frederick in 1762 who ascended the throne as King George IV at age 57. Their other children, born between 1763 and 1783, included eight sons—Frederick, William, Edward, Ernest, Augustus Frederick, Adolphus, Octavius, and Alfred—as well as six daughters: Charlotte, Augusta Sophia, Elizabeth, Mary, Sophia, and Amelia.

Alfred died shortly before his second birthday, and Octavius died following a smallpox inoculation at age 4. The rest of their children lived to adulthood, but Amelia suffered from tuberculosis and died at age 27.

Both George and Charlotte had an appreciation for the arts. According to Historic Royal Places, Charlotte was trained by the son of Johann Sebastian Bach and became proficient with the harpsichord. She even performed duets with her husband, a flutist. In 1764, she invited a talented 8-year-old named Wolfgang Mozart to live and train in England for a year.

Her own children’s education was important as well, and Charlotte appointed and supervised their tutors and governesses. She was also an amateur botanist and drew the plants and flowers that grew around Kew Palace, the family’s summer home just upriver from London. Her nearby cottage was home to pheasants, exotic birds, and even some of the first kangaroos in Britain.

George, meanwhile, strived to return morality to the royal family. According to the PBS series American Experience , he was the first king of the Hanover dynasty that didn’t have an extramarital affair, and the English people admired his fidelity. He built model farms at Windsor Castle and collected model ships and coins.

George’s Illness and Charlotte’s Response

George’s 60-year reign remains the longest of any male English monarch, but the king suffered through much of it with an illness that has confounded researchers for centuries.

According to the Georgian Papers Programme, notes from a ministerial meeting on April 5, 1765, show George first proposed a regency bill that would put someone in charge if he was unable to execute his duties. This was after the king, whose physicians kept detailed records, showed symptoms of an upper respiratory illness and depression.

George experienced severe stomach pain in 1788 that persisted for months and eventually led to weakness in his limbs and delirium. When George became uncharacteristically sexually aggressive, the decision was made to temporarily isolate him at Kew Palace. These symptoms recurred every few years until 1810, when the king finally became incapacitated and his eldest son—George, the Prince of Wales—became prince regent. Out of the public eye, the king conversed with dead people, including his daughter Amelia and what he believed were angels. These behaviors helped seal George’s future reputation as the “mad” king.

The king’s plight placed a lot of stress in Charlotte, who at times tried to mask the severity of her husband’s condition to protect the monarchy. She downplayed his mental lapses in a December 1788 letter to her son the Prince of Wales, whose political beliefs were known to vastly differ from the king’s. Soon after, the Regency Bill of 1789 gave Charlotte guardianship of the king’s court, her minor children, and the king himself in the event he became permanently incapacitated.

George and Charlotte’s Final Years

During George’s later years, the queen felt threatened by his more aggressive state and increasingly kept her distance. She also likely harbored frustration with her husband’s doctors, who used ineffective techniques like leeching, cold baths, and powders laced with arsenic, as well as torturous items like chains and straitjackets to treat him.

According to Historic Royal Palaces, Charlotte’s own health had deteriorated by 1818. She suffered from dropsy, which causes swelling and organ failure, and was usually confined to her bedroom at Kew. The queen died on November 17 of that year, surrounded by four of her children. During the funeral procession to Windsor Castle, the cobblestone paths were lined with straw so that the ill George couldn’t hear anything. By the time of his own death in 1820, George was blind and deaf .

It remains to be seen if A Bridgerton Story will focus much, if at all, on the sharp decline in the royal couple’s physical health and relationship. In any case, these troubling final decades weren’t indicative of the amicable partnership the pair led for years.

Watch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix

All six episodes of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story are now streaming exclusively on Netflix. Golda Rosheuvel and India Amarteifio plays Charlotte, at different ages, and Corey Mylchreest portrays a young King George III.

Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.

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Queen Letizia, Queen Maxima, and Crown Princess Amalia Coordinated in Stunning Tiaras and Vibrant Blue Gowns

Diamonds, pearls, and rubies were in abundance at last night's state banquet in the Netherlands.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Last night's state banquet in the Netherlands didn't disappoint on the jewelry front.

The young Princess has a keen eye for jewelry. "I love tiaras, she told writer Claudia de Breij in a 2021 biography . "Show me a tiara, and I'll know where it came from. I can recognize all the tiaras of Europe. I used to put them on from my mother. Then there would be one on her make-up table and I would have it directly on my head."

Certainly then, she appreciated Queen Maxima's choice of the stunning Stuart Tiara, which, too, dates back to the end of the 19th century. An extremely versatile piece, it can be worn in several different configurations of stones. Last night, she opted to pull out all the stops with the nearly 40-carat pear-shaped Stuart Diamond affixed to the topper.

While Maxima sparkled in diamonds, Queen Letizia showcased pearls—though the guest of honor at the diplomatic dinner wasn't entirely without sparkle. In addition to her diamond and pearl loop tiara, Letizia also paired her royal blue ball gown with diamond earrings and a pearl and diamond brooch.

Notably, all the key royal women in attendance—including King Willem-Alexander's aunt Princess Margriet and his mother Princess Beatrix—wore shades of silver and blue, making for rather color-coordinated portraits.

In his speech last evening King Willem-Alexander shared several personal ties to Spain, noting that it is the country where he and Queen Maxima first met. "Spain has a special place in our hearts. First of all, because it was in your country that our life together began. We were at the Feria de Abril in Seville 25 years ago. The sparks began to fly. The rest is history," he said. He also thanked the Spanish king and queen for their assistance in helping Princess Amalia study abroad in Madrid, after security threats made it difficult for her to live in student housing at the University of Amsterdam.

"Last year, circumstances required her to live in Madrid. From there, she was able to continue her studies at the University of Amsterdam. This was made possible by the kind efforts of many of your compatriots and yourselves," King Willem-Alexander said. "A touching demonstration of friendship at a difficult time. I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks to you and to everyone else who helped arrange this." Read his full remarks here.

As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects 

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First official portrait of King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark released since ascending the throne

The first official gala portrait of King Frederik X of Denmark and his Australian-born wife Queen Mary has been released.

The portrait, which shows the couple wearing the Order of the Elephant on chains, will be displayed in state institutions, including at Danish embassies and consulates around the world.  

Taken at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, it is the first photo of Mary wearing the crown jewels as queen since ascending the throne in January. 

After more than five decades, Queen Margrethe II announced her decision to abdicate in favour of her son during her New Year's Eve address.

In the portrait, Mary wears an emerald set with a tiara, necklace earrings and a large brooch. 

The set was designed by jeweller CM Weisshaupt and was a gift from Christian VIII to Queen Caroline Amalie, the Royal House states on its website. 

The set’s emeralds and diamonds are partly reused items from the jewellery collection of Christian VI’s Queen Sophie Magdalene and from older bracelets, combined with newly purchased stones, the Royal House website states.

Mary also wears a diamond miniature portrait of the king in a bow of Order of Dannebrog ribbon, in keeping with the tradition of female members of the royal family wearing a portrait of the sovereign.

• X (formerly Twitter)

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King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark Star in Regal New Photo for Social Media Page Makeover

Queen Mary sparkles in an emerald tiara that is part of the Danish crown jewels

Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world's most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment.

Steen Evald, Kongehuset

• King Frederik and Queen Mary have revealed a never-before-seen portrait as their new social media picture
• The Danish Royal House recently released the couple's gala photos following King Frederik's accession in February
• The new image comes as King Frederik and Queen Mary gave their first interview since the accession

King Frederik and Queen Mary have given their social media presence a royal refresh.

A few days after the Danish Royal House revealed the new gala portraits of the King and Queen of Denmark, courtiers revealed a brand new photo from what appears to be the same shoot for the royal couple’s new profile picture. 

As of May 3, the Danish Royal House’s Instagram and Facebook page avatars have been updated with a previously unseen portrait of the couple in their gala finery, including the emerald tiara, necklace, earrings and a large brooch that are part of the Danish crown jewels for Queen Mary. The new photo was taken at a side angle and showed the couple smiling side by side. It is credited to Steen Evald on Facebook, the same photographer who took the other three gala portraits in the Green Room at Christiansborg Palace.

The never-before-seen portrait of Queen Mary, 52, and King Frederik, 55, captured a candid moment for the royal couple, who have had a life-changing year.

On Jan. 14, Queen Margrethe abdicated on the 52nd anniversary of her accession two weeks after announcing the unexpected move on New Year’s Eve, making her the first Danish monarch to voluntarily step down from the throne in nearly 900 years.

Her eldest son became King Frederik X, his wife Queen Mary and their 18-year-old son Crown Prince Christian , taking the King’s former styling as heir. Frederik and Mary’s three younger children —  Princess Isabella , 17, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine , 13 — each moved up a spot in the line of succession following the change of reign.

King Frederik and Queen Mary have been busy with royal duties in the weeks since and opened up in their first interview since King Frederik’s accession about the big day and their vision for the modern monarchy on May 2. The couple spoke to Danish broadcaster TV 2 aboard the Royal Yacht Dannebrog as they continued a tradition of embarking on the sovereign’s official residence for summer cruises and overseas visits to kick off the summer sailing season.

Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty

According to Hello! magazine , the King said the balcony appearance to mark the change of reign was "overwhelming," but he felt welcomed by the Danish people as he stepped up into his new royal role. 

"It was very overwhelming and moving. I felt extremely well received. The highlight was when Mary and the children came out and stood right behind me, and I had the Danes standing in front of me and waving. It was one of the most amazing things to experience in my life," King Frederik said.

Queen Mary also spoke about the emotional moment: "I stood with the children, and when you stepped out onto the balcony towards your fate, it was a moment that moved me incredibly much. We could hear and feel it, even if we couldn't see it. It was a beautiful moment. I was both very happy and very proud."

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In the wide-ranging conversation with the national outlet, the royals said they would uphold previous protocol while thinking of the "present and future" of the monarchy. 

"We have not set a fixed route, but a good direction. We are going to continue the tracks we have laid. Our interest in nature and communities and business. We also want to be a royal couple who are visible and present throughout Denmark," Queen Mary added about their approach.

Next week, the King and Queen will make their first official state visit to Sweden from May 6 to May 7 and start a major tour of the Northern region. From there, they will pay a state visit to Norway, with further plans for official visits to the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the kingdom of Denmark, in June.

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