This June 29, 2024, on the occasion of Armed Forces Day, Buckingham Palace shared a new official portrait of King Charles III. King Charles poses for the first time in his full ceremonial uniform of Field Marshal No. 1. King Charles also poses with his marshal’s baton, sword and all of his medals and decorations.
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Armed Forces Day marked by new portrait of King Charles III
This June 29, 2024, as every year on the last Saturday of June, the United Kingdom dedicates its day to the celebration of its army. Armed Forces Day was established about twenty years ago to pay tribute to veterans, military personnel and military families.
To mark the day, King Charles III, head of the British Armed Forces, is entitled to a new official portrait. Buckingham Palace has shared a photo of the sovereign, seated in his gala uniform, taken in the Grand Corridor of Windsor Castle by photographer Hugo Burnand.
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King Charles III wears his full army uniform. In this component of the army, he is Field Marshal No. 1. The Field Marshal, translated into field marshal or field marshal, is the highest rank in the British Army. Marshal, which is an honorary rank, ranks above general, which is the highest rank.
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King Charles III in grand Field Marshal uniform
King Charles III had already obtained the status of field marshal during the reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2012. Three other Field Marshals are still alive today: the Duke of Kent, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank and the Baron Walker of Aldringham. This honorary rank has also been awarded in the past to foreigners, such as Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.
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In this photo taken by Hugo Burnand last November, King Charles has placed his white gloves, marshal’s baton and cap on a table. In his ungloved right hand he holds a sword. King Charles is also wearing all of his medals and decorations. In addition to his military medals, he wears the blue ribbon with red and white borders of the Order of Victoria as a sash.
So far, Charles III has worn this uniform on very few occasions since his accession to the throne. In his official portrait, which hangs in all the country’s government offices, King Charles III wears his uniform as Admiral of the Fleet, which is the equivalent of a Field Marshal in the Royal Navy. When he attends the annual Trooping the Colour ceremonies, he wears the uniform of a Colonel of one of the Royal Guard regiments. Recently, he wore a Field Marshal’s uniform in France, during the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. However, he wore a uniform in its beige version and not its grand gala version.
