Derbyshire royal correspondent prays for King Charles after cancer diagnosis and reflects on coronation year in Chesterfield photo exhibition

James, who lives in Shirebrook, said: “It is sad news that the King has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment. Receiving this news is a shock for anyone and my thoughts and prayers are with His Majesty - and with anyone else receiving cancer treatment at this time.

“Although details of the health of members of the Royal Family is, understandably, kept private, many of us will be waiting to hear updates on the King’s health.”

James, 39, has been commenting on events surrounding the Royal Family on radio and television for the past 15 years and has photographed royalty on high-profile occasions.

The coronation of King Charles is celebrated in an exhibition of James’ photographs at Chesterfield Library until the end of February 2024.

James said: “As the first coronation in 70 years, it was a special moment in our history and I was fortunate enough to attend several different events during coronation year, including attending Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade and at Windsor on Easter morning.

"My two favourite images from this exhibition are both on the balcony of Buckingham Palace – one of the King and Queen following the coronation. This was taken after my friend, Dean, and I spent a full day and night in The Mall, it mean fighting our way along the processional route with hundreds of thousands of others – in the rain.

"The other is of the King with the Prince and Princess of Wales with the children following Trooping the Colour. After attending the ceremony, I managed to get a spot in front of the Victoria Memorial to capture the image – and I love seeing Prince Louis playing aeroplanes – so happy and natural."

James, who uses a Nikon D3300 camera, said: “Sometimes, such as at Windsor at Easter, it is possible to be close enough to the Royal Family to speak to them, other times, one can be much further away. I invested in a long lens at the time of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which has helped with the balcony shots and ones in places such as Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral.

"Depending on where the event is taking place, it sometimes means security checks and searches but nearly always involves arriving hours in advance and standing up against a barrier – seeing the results makes this worth it, though.”

The next big events in the royal calendar are the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey and Easter at Windsor, both in March.