EMILY PRESCOTT: The touching photo with mum that King Charles had to restore after a chance meeting with an old soldier outside Buckingham Palace
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It was a moving scene as King Charles wandered outside Buckingham Palace in the depths of his grief, speaking to members of the public who were also saddened by his mother’s death.
But one of those brief encounters would lead to the creation of a joyous new image of the King with his beloved ‘Mummy’.
Former soldier Ben Lopez, who now works restoring old photos with his company Loved Ones Forever, caught up with Charles during his tour. Ben told Charles what he did and offered to update the old photos of the prince and his mother.
King Charles found this old photograph of him when he was one year old with his mother, the then Princess Elizabeth.
Former soldier Ben Lopez, who now works restoring old photos with his company Loved Ones Forever, caught up with Charles during his tour. Ben told Charles what he did and offered to update the old photos of the prince and his mother.
And he was stunned when he later spoke to a courtier, who asked Ben to restore an old photograph of the Queen with Charles when he was one, taken in 1949.
Ben tells me, ‘The Palace called again after Charles found a photo he wanted restored. Usually it takes me about half an hour to an hour, but this particular one took a few days, it had to be perfect.’ Ben, 35, who carefully copied and colored the old photo, tells me that he previously worked on a picture for actor Tom Hardy.
The restored photo may now be behind the Palace walls, but a copy was auctioned for £35,000 last weekend at a Children with Cancer charity gala, an event attended by celebrity guests including The Office actor Martin Freeman, athlete Paula Radcliffe and Arlene from Strictly Come Dancing. Phillips.