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With the ascension of King Charles III to the throne, the question arises of what should be done with the official portraits of the late Queen Elizabeth II. This issue led to controversy at the Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon Borough Council after suggestions that a portrait of the Queen could end up in storage to make way for a portrait of the new King. The council’s equality and diversity officer stated that the portrait of the Queen should not be located in a public area or reception spot.
To make room for portraits of King Charles III, councils in Northern Ireland have had to determine what to do with their portraits of the late Queen. Cities across the UK were given the opportunity in June to apply for a free framed portrait of the new king to mark the beginning of his reign. The issue was not as straightforward for councils, which had to decide what to do with their portraits of Elizabeth II.
In a September committee meeting, Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon council approved a proposal to hang the portrait of the King. However, the question of what to do with the late Queen’s portrait was not as clear. The Ulster Unionist Party councillor, Kate Evans, said that the Queen’s portrait should not be put into storage, an opinion echoed by Democratic Unionist Party councillor Mark Baxter. Despite progress, councillors were briefed on the status of the search for an equality compliant location for the Queen’s portrait.
Ards and North Down council had a similar experience and took down all portraits of the late Queen, while Antrim and Newtownabbey council put the King’s portrait outside the mayor’s office and moved the portrait of Elizabeth II to the council art collection. Belfast City Council moved the portrait of Elizabeth II to the “civic dignitaries accommodation area.” Derry City and Strabane council gave the portrait to St. Columb’s Cathedral rather than putting it up in a council building. Fermanagh, Omagh, Mid-Ulster, and Newry, Mourne, and Down councils do not exhibit portraits of members of the royal family in their buildings. Causeway Coast and Glens, and Mid and East Antrim councils have not responded to the BBC’s queries.
Guidance from the UK government states that institutions are not required to take down portraits of Elizabeth II, and in some cases, portraits of previous monarchs remain on display
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