King Charles has marked his first Mother’s Day without the Queen by sharing a poignant childhood photo with his ‘beloved Mama’.
The monarch, 74, and Queen Consort Camilla, 75, showed their support for others who have lost parents on their Instagram account this morning.
The first image in their joint post showed King Charles as a toddler standing on his mother’s lap as they posed for a photo.
Wearing a white collared dress, the fair-haired monarch beamed at the camera and clasped his mother’s hand in the undated image.
Meanwhile, the Queen – who was Princess Elizabeth at the time – looked radiant in a fitted grey dress and a pearl necklace.
The first image in their joint post showed King Charles as a toddler standing on his mother’s lap as they posed for a photo
The royal couple showed their support for other people mourning loved ones this Mothering Sunday
Smiling into the distance, Her Majesty – who was just 22 when she had King Charles – had her brown hair styled in her signature curls and wore a light orange lipstick.
Today marks King Charles’ first ever Mothering Sunday without his ‘beloved mother’ – who died at the age of 96 last September.
In the poignant post, Queen Consort Camilla also shared a heartwarming photo with her late mother Rosalind Shand, who sadly passed away in 1994.
The image – which is from Camilla’s private family collection – shows the royal dressed in a bright red jacket and gold necklace as she beams beside her late mother.
Rosalind – who was the daughter of Roland Cubitt, the third Baron Ashcombe – also looked glamorous in a dotted blouse, bird-shaped brooch and pearl earrings.
Charles and Camilla captioned the post: ‘To all mothers everywhere, and to those who may be missing their mums today, we are thinking of you and wishing you a special Mother’s Day.’
The post has amassed over 240,000 ‘likes’ since it was uploaded in the early hours of this morning – and royal fans showed their support in the comments.
One wrote: ‘Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures, the first Mothers Day without your mum is so difficult, no matter how old you are. Thinking of you both.’
The Queen Consort shared this image of herself and her mother Rosalind – who passed away at the age of 72 in 1994 – to mark Mothering Sunday
Another added: ‘Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth lives and will always live in our hearts!’
A third gushed: ‘Such a lovely pic from Queen Elizabeth and King Charles!’
‘Happy Mothers Day to Queen Camilla,’ a fourth said.
In his first Christmas message as monarch, King Charles paid tribute to his ‘beloved mother’ and explained how he had been deeply touched by the ‘love and sympathy [the public] have shown our whole family’ in the months that followed her passing.
In 2019, the then Duchess of Cornwall spoke movingly about her late mother while attending the official launch of the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
She has been president of the charity since 2001, and before that a keen supporter and patron since 1997.
In her speech at the event, the Duchess revealed that her mother died from the condition at 72 – which was the same age Camilla was at the time of the event.
Camilla (pictured with her mother in 1965) has been a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society since 1997 – three years after her mother passed away of the condition
Camilla said, after unveiling the updated logo: ‘It was 25 years ago that my mother died as a result of osteoporosis. In fact, she was exactly the same age as I am now.
‘Then, it was never discussed, rarely diagnosed, and always attributed to old people.’
She recalled how she became involved with the ‘wonderful, tiny’ charity to find out more about the disease.
‘My family and I were completely devastated, but also, we didn’t understand how somebody could be in so much pain, and we were unable, and the doctors seemed unable, to do anything about it,’ she said.
Paying tribute to the ROS, and new medicines, research and helplines developed over the years, she added: ‘It’s just incredible what’s happening and I just wish my mother was here today to see what could have been done.’
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