Speaking to The Times after the portraits were released, Mr Burnand said the fact that the King’s head is at a slight angle “shows you the man” and added that he deliberately used less light for the shot.

“I wanted him to pop out. It’s him. He is of his age. With that comes wisdom and experience and all those things. It’s good to have the real man there… It is an authentic picture of our King,” he said.

As the Coronation festivities came to a close, the King and Queen pledged on Tuesday night to rededicate their lives to service as the monarch called the nation’s support throughout the historic celebrations “the greatest possible coronation gift”.

As part of the nation’s support, Buckingham Palace had hoped that Monday’s Big Help Out initiative of community volunteering would create a lasting Coronation legacy by inspiring more people to do charitable work.

Annual Big Help Out

On Tuesday night, the scheme’s organisers revealed that it will become an annual volunteering event after the success of the day saw more than six and a half million people take part on their Coronation bank holiday.

Matt Hyde, chief executive of the Scouts, said the figures “show the scale of enthusiasm” for the scheme, adding that their task now is to “keep up that momentum”.

Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition that helped to organise the Big Help Out, said: “When we started this we were aiming to encourage tens of thousands of people to step forward.

“Instead one in ten Britons have got involved. That’s a huge testament to the inspiration of the Coronation, but also the ongoing desire of the public to help when given a chance.”

In polling conducted after the event, 16 per cent of all respondents said that they were more likely to volunteer in their local area because of the Big Help Out.