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By CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Olivia Kemp and Billy Stockwell in London

Hugo Burnand/Royal Household

When it comes to portraits of the British royal family, nothing is left to chance.  
Or so says Alessandro Nasini, the curator of a milestone exhibition at King Charles’ Scottish residence this summer, which is drawing back the curtain on the art and process of royal portrait photography.  

The exhibition, running at The King’s Gallery in Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse until September 7, reveals the often-intimate relationship between royal sitter and snapper, the behind-the-scenes negotiations as part of the commissioning process, and yes, the occasional re-touching, too.  

Among the more than 90 prints, proofs and documents on display are a portrait of King Charles on the verge of adulthood, a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II as a princess and a series of “coming of age” images to mark Princess Anne's 21st birthday.  

Many of the photographs are being shown in Scotland for the very first time.  

In an interview with CNN, Nasini said the original idea for the exhibition started about a decade ago, but with the Royal Collection’s roughly half a million photographs on offer, Nasini and his team knew they had to spend some time sharpening their focus.   

“The idea was to concentrate on the last century of photography, so from the 1920s to the 2020s,” he said, adding that this period “really saw some of the most exciting times in portrait photography.”  

Royal Collection Trust

There was a “huge demand” for photographic portraits, Nasini said, as the popularity of lifestyle magazines like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Tatler increased, and the printing process became easier with new technology.   

One photo on display that indicates this technical advance is a portrait of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the sister-in-law to George VI and Edward VIII.   

Taken on Alice’s wedding day in 1935 by Madame Yevonde, the photo is the earliest surviving photographic print of a member of the royal family to be produced in color, according to the Royal Collection Trust.   

As well as being a pioneer in color photography, Yevonde was a suffragette and a trailblazer for female photographers, Nasini said.  

In another image, taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1951, the then-Princess Elizabeth sits with her hands gently folded in her lap, against a soft turquoise backdrop.   

Yousuf Karsh/Camera Press

Karsh, who arrived in Canada as a refugee from the Ottoman Empire in 1924, went on to earn a global reputation, according to the Royal Collection Trust, particularly known for his ability to bring out the sitter’s personality.   

Speaking about the purpose of royal portraits, Nasini said that every royal portrait commission has a purpose — for example, to mark an important anniversary or a birthday.   

It is then up to the commissioner of the image, the photographer and the sitter to negotiate the terms of the shoot – the location, the clothing, whether or not to wear a tiara.  

“The royal family in general really understands the power of photography, pretty much since its very beginning,” Nasini said.   

“Even Queen Victoria was very much aware of this, so much so that she decided in 1860 to make public for the very first time some photographs of members of the royal family,” he added.  

For more details about this summer’s exhibition, you can join Nasini on August 15 at Abbey Strand Centre in Edinburgh to hear more from the curator about his personal highlights of the exhibition.   

Prince Harry’s surprise trip to Ukraine. 

Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to meet wounded military personnel and civilian victims at the Superhumans Centre in Ukraine last week, a spokesperson said. The center, based in Lviv, provides specialized care for individuals affected by the ongoing conflict, offering advanced prosthetics, and psychological support free of charge. The duke was joined by four veterans from the Invictus Games Foundation, touring the facility and meeting with patients and medical professionals. He also met with Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs, Natalia Kalmykova, and Yulia (Taira) Paievska, a Team Ukraine competitor whose story was featured in the Netflix docuseries “Heart of Invictus.” 

Yana Stukach/Superhumans Center/AP

King Charles returns to Maundy Thursday service.

King Charles attended the traditional Maundy Thursday service at Durham Cathedral this week, after missing last year’s ceremony following his cancer diagnosis. A staple of the royal calendar, it traditionally sees the monarch distribute specially minted coins to people for their services to the community. This year, the King handed out two purses — one red and one white — containing Maundy Money to 76 men and 76 women. The white purse contains specially minted silver coins, while the red holds a new £5 coin commemorating the Queen Mother, as well as a 50p piece honoring those who fought in World War II. Meanwhile, in a personal message ahead of Easter, the King reflected on the meaning of the season, saying that “there are three virtues that the world still needs — faith, hope and love. “And the greatest of these is love.” Read his full message here. 

Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

The Princess of Wales has appeared in a short film discussing the importance of nature and its ability to support health and wellbeing. The film sees Kate on a walk near the shores of the Lake District, England, spending time with a group of Scouts. As Joint President of Scouts since 2020, Kate discussed the impact being in nature can have on young people in building their confidence and skills for later life. During the film, she says: “I find it a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection I suppose, these environments. Not everyone has that same relationship perhaps with nature, but it is so therefore meaningful for me as a place to balance and find a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world.” Watch the film over on YouTube.  

Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Princess Anne is headed to Turkey for a two-day visit on April 24, where she will represent her brother at the 110th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign. During the trip, the Princess Royal will participate in a series of commemorative events on the Gallipoli peninsula. On Thursday, she will attend the memorial services for Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and Ireland. As president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, she will also visit the grave of Lt. Col. Charles Doughty-Wylie, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for Gallantry during the campaign.  

On Friday, Anne will attend the Dawn Memorial Service at Anzac Cove, followed by meetings with New Zealand’s prime minister and Australia’s govenor-general. She’ll later attend the Australian and New Zealand memorial services. Anne is stepping in for her brother who previously attended the 90th and 100th commemorations in 2005 and 2015 respectively. 

Vatican Media

Charles and Camilla leave after attending a service at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, where they watched a performance of a new piece of music by Welsh composer Paul Mealor to mark the royal couple's 20th wedding anniversary on April 13.

"That's what he's driven by, helping others."

– Queen Camilla

The Queen Consort shed light on her husband’s work ethic and sense of duty, as he continues receiving treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. Speaking as their recent state visit to Italy concluded, Camilla said "I think he loves his work and it keeps him going,” according to Britain’s PA Media news agency.  

To our dear Royal News readers,  

We wanted to give you a quick update that we will be wrapping up our weekly newsletter next week. It’s been a busy four years on the royal beat since we launched, and we want to thank you for joining us on the rollercoaster of royal reporting. We’ve loved writing to you but feel that now is a good time to make some changes. We’ll have more details next week.  

Until then,  

Max & Lauren