King Charles portrait finally installed at Reading council

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An official portrait of King Charles III has finally been installed at the council meeting chamber in Reading.

The chamber at the Reading Borough Council offices hosts councillors for all the main meetings of the year.

For around three years, an official portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II has been in place in the chamber. 

Now the council has successfully replaced it with a portrait of King Charles III.

Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley) celebrated the news on X.

The official portrait of King Charles III was issued in January last year.

The official portrait of King Charles III issued in January 2024. Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2024/Cabinet Office(Image: )

While the council had acquired a portrait for civic ceremonies after its issue, a second was requested for installation in the chamber. 

A spokesperson explained: “The council is pleased to report that the portrait of His Majesty was hung in the Chamber last week and will oversee council business going forward.

“Each local authority was initially supplied with one official portrait. Reading’s official copy is located in the Registration Service at the Town Hall and continues to be used for Citizenship Ceremonies.

“The council has since obtained an additional portrait, which was returned from the framers last week and promptly placed in the chamber.”

Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022.

The presence of the Queen's portrait was noted at the last planning applications committee meeting on September 10.

Cllr Richard Davies (Labour, Thames) said: “I still don't know why we've got a picture of the last monarch still up, so his majesty does not seem to be represented in this room yet!”

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