Buckingham Palace has shared the first official portrait of the King marking his coronation.

The King and Queen also pledged to rededicate their lives to service as Charles called the nation’s support throughout the historic celebrations “the greatest possible coronation gift”.

As the weekend of festivities came to a close, Charles issued a special written coronation message, saying: “We thank you, each and every one.”

Traditional official portraits marking the crowning of Charles III and Queen Camilla were released to round off the monarchy’s landmark occasion.

Among them, the King was captured in his full regalia – wearing the Imperial State Crown, holding the Orb and Sceptre with Cross, and dressed in his regal purple tunic and Robe of Estate, seated on a Throne Chair in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.

Camilla was pictured alongside the King, and also in a solo portrait, wearing Queen Mary’s Crown, with the train of her lengthy embroidered Robe of Estate spread in front of her.

As more than 20 million people tuned into watch the King’s coronation on Saturday (6 May), only a handful of eagle-eyed viewers spotted the mysterious cloaked figure holding a “scythe” and walking through Westminster Abbey.

​​“Anyone else just notice the Grim Reaper at Westminster Abbey?” wrote one person on Twitter, while another added: “Who invited the Grim Reaper?”

Social media users were left asking whether the figure had been someone pulling a prank, knowing the coronation was being televised, or if it had just been a random passerby.

When contacted by Newsweek, Westminster Abbey identified the figure as a verger, a member of the abbey community who assists with religious services but who is not a member of the clergy.

Queen Camilla offered Princess Charlotte a comforting gesture after the eight year old stumbled while curtsying to King Charles III.

On Sunday 7 May, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the coronation concert for the newly crowned King and Queen along with their two eldest children, Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, eight.

Ahead of the star-studded concert, William, Kate and their children greeted the King and Queen with curtsies and bows as the monarch and his wife made their way to their front row seats in the royal box next to the Waleses.

Prince Louis took control of a digger as royals joined the Big Help Out day of volunteering on Monday, while his grandfather the King issued “sincere and heartfelt thanks” to the nation for the coronation festivities.

The young royal joined Prince George and Princess Charlotte in helping renovate a Scout hut site in Slough, Berkshire, under the watchful eye of their parents the Prince and Princess of Wales.

As King Charles III officially ascends the throne today, Britons have been remembering the atmosphere on the coronation day of Queen Elizabeth II 70 years ago.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been officially crowned in their coronation.

His Majesty ascended the throne last September after the death of his mother.

When Queen Elizabeth II died last September, Britain bid goodbye to its longest-reigning monarch.

In Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne, the British line of succession has seen many changes.

The royal line of succession has decided who will be the next king or queen of Great Britain for hundreds of years, and now with new generation of royals, there is a now long list of people who could be our next monarch.

From Prince William to Princess Eugenie and everyone in between, Furvah Shah runs through everyone in line for the British throne:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s friend and photographer Misan Harriman has wished the couple’s son Prince Archie a happy birthday with a poignant photo of the child touching a portrait of his late grandmother, Princess Diana.

Chelsea Ritschel has more:

Pamela Tawse was 18 and still in her nurse’s uniform and cap when she made her way to central London after her night shift, eager to catch a glimpse of the new Queen Elizabeth on the day of her coronation.

It was the huge crescendo of noise she remembers today, aged 88, twinkling in delight as she thinks back to a time when Britain, still enduring rationing eight years after the end of the Second World War, turned out in force to see the opulence and glamour of the start of a historic reign.

“We climbed over the barricades and the crowds were really deep,” Tawse recounted.