King Charles is understood to have removed part of his late mother’s large collection of horse-related statues, paintings and trophies from sight and put them into storage.
It’s reported the reigning monarch is trying to furnish the royal residences to his own taste, with the king being less in favour than the late queen of equestrian-based ornaments.
In a photograph taken in February 2022 at Windsor Queen Elizabeth can be seen with two horse statues on the mantel above the fire. One shows a horse and groom and the other depicts the then Princess Elizabeth, aged ten, on her first pony, the Telegraph reports. When Her Majesty met then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020 the same two ornaments were visible.
The Queen’s passion for he favourite four-legged animal, alongside corgis, was well documented and she often received horse-based gifts from foreign dignitaries and when she was on tour.
In other photographs the Queen was often seen with a gold horse statue on her desk. Sources say the equestrian art was heavily on display in Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
One told the Telegraph: “As The King spends more time at Buckingham Palace and Windsor a small number of items of decorative arts are gradually being rearranged as you would expect.”
The King is beginning a series of engagements in Scotland, marking the first Holyrood Week since his coronation. There will be a special ceremony of thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral on Wednesday, where Charles will be presented with the Honours of Scotland – the nation’s crown jewels.
Each year the monarch traditionally spends a week based at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, known as Holyrood Week or Royal Week in Scotland.
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