A precious new batch of royal family portraits [1] were released in honour of Prince Charles's 70th birthday [2] on Tuesday. In the photos, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle [3], Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall are all featured happily smiling in the gardens of Clarence House, however, one very important person seems to be missing: Queen Elizabeth II. Being that Elizabeth is the current reigning monarch [4] of England and she's William and Harry's grandmother [5], it makes sense that she would have been a part of the family portraits. So, what happened?
Well, it turns out, the queen's absence may have more significance [6] than you think. Elizabeth marked her 90th birthday earlier this year, and since then, she's passed down some of her key duties [7] to Charles, Will, Harry, Kate, and Meghan. Back in April, Charles was anointed the next Commonwealth leader [8] after the queen formally asked the Commonwealth Heads of Government to appoint her son as her successor. Perhaps the queen's absence from the portraits are her way of introducing the world to the new faces of the British monarchy?
