With the historic coronation of King Charles III tomorrow, I am reminded of the times when I have photographed His Royal Majesty, and indeed the new Queen to be, Camilla. The monarchy is not for everyone but through my job I have always enjoyed the challenge of a Royal visit - battling with the crowds, being moved in and out of position by members of the royal press office and vying for position with my fellow photographers - all in pursuit of obtaining a good set of images.
The first set of pictures were taken of the then Prince Charles during his visit to Auckland Castle, the historical residence of The Bishop of Durham, in July 2012. Amongst others, he met with philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer, who's pictured in one of the photos below.
Our paths crossed again in February 2016 when Prince Charles visited Redcar to meet with local businesses and see for himself the work being done after the closure of the Redcar Steelworks. On this occasion he arrived by the Royal Train and visited the Redcar and Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart, and car parts company Elring Klinger.
Finally, I photographed Camilla for the first time when she came to North Yorkshire in March 2017 for the 100 Squad Centenary at RAF Leeming. A particularly blustery, cold day as I recall, however the warmth shown to those she was introduced and chatted to shone through.
I hope the spectacular occasion goes well tomorrow, and shows off our nation in the best way possible.
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