A new royal documentary has captured a rare family moment between King Charles and three of his grandchildren.
In a scene from the BBC film Charles III: The Coronation Year, which aired on Boxing Day, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children are seen arriving at rehearsals for the King’s coronation.
Charles, in a rare public display of affection, is seen hugging his grandchildren in turn – first Princess Charlotte, eight, then Prince George, ten, and finally five-year-old Prince Louis stretches out his arms for an embrace.
Charlotte is also seen bobbing down into a small curtsey, just like her mother Kate, after hugging her grandfather. Watch the moment below…
Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford, one of the two bishops assistants to the Queen during the coronation, told the documentary: “I think what struck me particularly is how extraordinarily affectionate they are.
“They’re clearly a very close family of all the generations and in a sense you felt you were part of a family occasion as well as a royal occasion and a national occasion.”
The King is also grandfather to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s two children, Prince Archie, four, and two-year-old Princess Lilibet, who reside in Montecito, California.
In another touching scene from the documentary, Charles and Prince William are filmed rehearsing the poignant allegiance moment.
The Prince tickles Charles’s left cheek, making him laugh, then kisses him on the right cheek, but the King questions the move saying: “Wasn’t it that side?,” pointing to his other cheek.
William also makes the senior clerics and officials around him laugh when he says to his father, “Your left cheek is better”, after kissing it and giving his face another affectionate stroke.
The documentary takes the viewer behind the scenes as everything is readied ahead of the big day, from alterations to the crown jewels, the work of the Royal School of Needlework, and the arrival of the King and Queen’s anointing oil from the Holy Land.
It also captures the months after the coronation, including the King’s first win at Royal Ascot and his first time hosting the royals at Balmoral for their annual summer break.
© BBC/Oxford Film and TelevisionThe film features contributions from the Princess Royal, Queen Camilla’s sister, Annabel Elliot and her Queen’s Companion, Lady Fiona Lansdowne.
Charles III: The Coronation Year will be screened on Boxing Day at 6.50pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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