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New portrait of King Charles III available for public authorities
The Cabinet Office has released a new official portrait of the King, which is available to public authorities across the UK.
The portrait was taken at Windsor Castle last year by photographer Hugo Burnand and shows the King wearing a Royal Navy uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet and official medals and decorations.
Applications are now open for eligible institutions, including principal Local Authorities, courts, schools, police forces and fire and rescue services.
The scheme will be extended in February to include town, parish and community councils and Ministry of Defence-sponsored cadet forces.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: "The accession of His Majesty The King marked a new chapter in our national story.
"Displaying this new portrait will serve as a reminder to us all of the example set by our ultimate public servant and I hope as many eligible organisations as possible will wish to continue this proud British tradition and honour our King’s reign."
The scheme will cost £8 million and has attracted criticism.
When the scheme was first announced, campaign group Republic said: "This is a shameful waste of money. At a time when a majority of local councils are raising taxes and cutting public services, when schools and hospitals are struggling, to spend even £1 on this nonsense would be £1 too much."
"The government has lost the plot if they think people want their money spent on pictures of Charles. They need to scrap this scheme and direct the money where it's really needed."
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: "Out of glue sticks? Leaky roof? Damp entering through that cracked window frame?
"What your school needs is a picture of King Charles printed on 'high quality' paper."
Image: By Arnaud Bouissou - https://www.flickr.com/photos/cop21/23443532035/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54810237
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