King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style” exhibition at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace on Monday.
The royal couple’s visit was the first of several events the royals will attend to mark the 100th birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday.
The exhibition, which opened earlier this month and will run until October, features more than 300 items from Queen Elizabeth II’s wardrobe from throughout her life.
Britain’s longest-reigning and longest-lived Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, spending 70 years on the throne before her death in September 2022 at the age of 96.
His lasting influence is such that a YouGov poll last week found that 81% of those surveyed had a positive opinion of him, higher than any other living member of the royal family.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with a sense of duty like his,” Queen Camilla said in a BBC documentary broadcast on Sunday.
“It must have been very difficult to be surrounded by people much older than me,” Camilla said of Elizabeth’s accession to the throne at the age of 25 in 1952.
“There were no female prime ministers or female presidents. She was alone, so I think she created her own role.”
On Tuesday, the king and other royals will visit the British Museum to see the final designs for his mother’s national memorial, while Princess Anne will officially open the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens in London’s Regent’s Park.
In the evening, Charles and Camilla will host a reception attended by representatives of the charities supported by their mother, as well as a number of people who will be celebrating her 100th birthday.
The commemoration of the royals comes after the government announced on Sunday that a new independent charity, the Queen Elizabeth Trust, is being launched to focus on restoring shared spaces in communities, backed by 40 million pounds ($54 million) with the monarch as its patron.
