exclusive
King Charles
Thank you card revealed! This is what his choice of photo says about him
© Dana Press
After learning of his cancer diagnosis, King Charles received numerous well wishes. GALA.de also sent the monarch a card to Buckingham Palace – and has now received a reply.
The monarch has already thanked King Charles, 75, for the numerous well wishes he received after his cancer diagnosis in a digital video message. More than 7,000 letters and cards reached the Buckingham Palace address following the shocking news, most of them handwritten and lovingly decorated. The editorial team of GALA.de also sent King Charles personal well-wishes – and received a written response on March 19, 2024, around a month and a half later.
King Charles’ thank you card: special photo and thoughtful words
The front of the card is decorated with the golden logo of the British monarch, and on the inside there is a photo of Charles and personal words. It says: “I would like to thank you very much for your incredibly thoughtful message. It was wonderfully generous of you to take the trouble to write like this and your kind words were very uplifting.” The monarch signed underneath with his signature “Charles R”.
The front of the fold-out card is decorated with a gold emblem with the initials C (for Charles) R (for Rex, Latin for “king”).
© Buckingham Palace / Samir Hussein
The accompanying photo shows King Charles during his state tour in France on September 20, 2023 at the residence of the British ambassador in Paris. The photographer behind the shot is Samir Hussein, who is responsible for many iconic and historic images of the Royal Family. Among other things, he held moments at the weddings of Prince William, 41, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, 42, as well as Prince Harry, 39, and Duchess Meghan, 42. Hussein was also present with his camera at the coronation of King Charles in May 2023.
© Buckingham Palace / Samir Hussein
Charles relies on the tried and tested
Buckingham Palace also used the photo of Charles in France to publicize the monarch’s cancer diagnosis. The fact that Charles chose this image for his thank you card not only shows the direct connection to his illness, but also that the 75-year-old feels well portrayed by this photograph.
In the photo, Charles is wearing a dark blue suit with white stripes – just like in the pictures that show him reading the get well wishes. He smiles almost reservedly into the camera and appears completely natural at the moment the photo is taken. The picture supports Charles’ strategy for dealing with an illness: From the beginning, the palace communicated unusually openly about the prostate operation and the cancer that was discovered during it. The photo used for communication underlines once again: Charles is a king – but first and foremost a human being.
Sources used: instagram.com, getty-images.de, samirhussein.com