Previously unseen picture of Queen Elizabeth shared in touching tribute as Royal Family mark anniversary of late monarch’s passing

The Royal Family has shared a touching, never-before-seen photo of the late Queen on social media to mark the first anniversary of her passing.

The photo of Queen Elizabeth was taken at Buckingham Palace in October 1968 when she was just 42, by Cecil Beaton.

A number of images from the set have been shared before, but the photo, which shows the Queen dressed in a lilac dress and beaming at the camera, is believed to be new.

The image was shared today on the royal family’s official social media page, along with the words: “In loving and eternal memory.”

The caption continued: “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022.”

The image was shared today on the royal family’s official social media page, along with the words: ‘In loving and eternal memory’

One image from the set is on display at the National Portrait Gallery and shows the smiling Queen.

The photos show the late monarch wearing the Cambridge pearl brooch.

Dating back more than 140 years, the historic brooch originally belonged to Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, before being passed down to Queen Elizabeth by her grandmother.

Queen Elizabeth famously wore the piece for a portrait on her 50th birthday at Windsor Castle, on April 21, 1976, and earlier on a Christmas broadcast in 1971.

The monarch also wore the brooch in 2019 at a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the work of The Queen’s Trust and when welcoming the Peruvian ambassador to the palace in 2018.

The King paid a touching tribute to his beloved mother today as the country celebrates the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

In an unprecedented break from tradition, which shows how moved he has been by the country’s grief at her passing, but also by pride in a remarkable life of public duty, His Majesty recalled the “long life, devoted service of his mother and all she meant to so many.” us’.

Initially, Charles, 74, had planned to celebrate his mother’s death – and his own sad entry – in ‘quiet contemplation’ at home in Scotland.

In doing so, he would follow the same pattern that Queen Elizabeth had followed for seventy years, marking the death of her father, King George VI, at Sandringham in Norfolk, away from the public eye.

But in recent weeks, he began to change his mind, as he was so deeply moved by the global outpouring of grief after his mother died on September 8 last year.

The Mail can reveal that the King and Queen Camilla chose last night not to return to their own home in Birkhall on the Balmoral estate as planned, but to remain in the castle itself where Elizabeth died aged 96, surrounded by the glory of the Scottish Highlands that she loved.

They will remain there today, comforted by some of those closest to Her Majesty, and spend the night there too, before returning to their adjoining estate. A source said, “I think it will be a comfort to be surrounded by so much that was known to her.”

The King paid a touching tribute to his beloved mother today as the country celebrates the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales will celebrate the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death with a small private service in Wales. William and Kate will visit St Davids Cathedral in St Davids, Britain’s smallest city, in Pembrokeshire, on Friday. They will also meet members of the local community at the adjoining monastery, including local people who met Elizabeth II on her visits to St Davids.

St. Davids has been a place of pilgrimage and worship for over 1,400 years, ever since St. David, the patron saint of Wales, settled there with his monastic community in the sixth century.

Since the Reformation, one of the quire stalls has been owned by the Crown and is known as the Sovereign’s Stall. This makes St Davids the only UK cathedral where the monarch has a special stall in the quire among the members of the chapter, the governing body of the cathedral.

Elizabeth II was the first monarch to visit St Davids Cathedral since the Reformation when she arrived at the site with her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, on a royal tour to Wales in August 1955 following her coronation.

In his message, Charles said: ‘On the occasion of the first anniversary of Her Majesty’s death and my accession, we remember with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us.

“I am also deeply grateful for the love and support I have shown my wife and myself this year as we do our very best to serve you all.”

It was signed by Charles R and accompanied by a portrait chosen by the King that has never before been released to the general public. The photo was taken at Buckingham Palace on October 16, 1968, as part of an official session awarded to the legendary Cecil Beaton – the last he would ever undertake with Her Majesty before he passed away.

It was displayed the following month at the National Portrait Gallery, but has not previously been released publicly.

The king apparently chose the photo because of the ‘beautiful’ – and slightly mischievous – look in his mother’s eyes, who was 42 at the time.