Prince Charles has completed a photo session for the February issue of UK Vogue, posing for famed fashion photographer Mario Testino. The Prince says he is “delighted” with the results, while Mario had nothing but praise for the future king, calling him an “attractive person" with a "tremendous sense of humour.“
"The Prince of Wales has this amazing energy, and his laughter is so contagious,” says the photographer. “I had always imagined that he was rather serious but he is very funny. It was his sense of humour that influenced how I photographed him.”
Calling the hour-long shoot in the gardens of Highgrove “great fun”, Mario says. “I feel fortunate that I met Prince Charles at the right time: a key moment in his life when he has a new confidence and when he is at ease with himself.” One of Mario’s favourite shots is a colour picture where Charles is wearing a brown coat from Pakistan as he feeds his rare Welsomer chickens. “The picture shows the human, caring side of his nature,” he explains.
A palace spokesman said Charles was “delighted” with the results of the photo session, saying, “The Prince is an admirer of Mario Testino’s work and was happy to cooperate with him.”
One of Mario’s formal photos of Prince Charles will also appear at the National Portrait Gallery in London, beginning February 1. The shots will be part of an exhibition of his work. His past subjects have included Madonna and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Mario was a favourite of Princess Diana, and famously took sensational portraits of her for Vanity Fair just a month before her death in 1997.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
