Queen Elizabeth Just Revealed a Very Candid and Rare Family Photo
As anyone who's watched The Crown knows, Queen Elizabeth II delivers a heartfelt speech about the holiday season during her annual TV Christmas broadcast. This year's message aired on Christmas day at 10 a.m. ET, but the Kensington Royal Instagram account gave fans a sneak peek from her address on Christmas Eve. In it, you can see the Queen's golden piano, vibrant tree, and a framed picture perched on her desk.
Considering all the other gorgeous decorations in the background, the black-and-white photo is easy to miss. But if you look a bit closer, you can see the photograph features the Queen, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles. The photo is from a Buckingham Palace photo op that took place in April 1949. At the time, Charles was only six months old. In it, the Queen looks happily to the side as baby Charles reaches for his mom - perhaps to play with her pearl necklace. Meanwhile, Philip stares directly at the camera looking as stoic as ever.
The photo was taken during a time when the royal family was often forced to split up because of Elizabeth and Philip's demanding schedules. In fact, Her Majesty would spend months apart from her infant son because of travel and royal obligations, which was made even more complicated by the fact that Philip (then an officer in the Royal Navy) was stationed in Malta in the late 1940s.
Still, despite having to spend time apart so many decades ago, the royal family appears to have a strong bond today. In a direct quote from her speech, Elizabeth said that "faith, family, and friendship have been not only a constant for me but a source of personal comfort and reassurance." Clearly, the Christmas season is all bout family for Her Majesty.
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