Times photographer Richard Pohle: My favourite images of 2025

, The Times

It is always a daunting task to sit down and look back at your portfolio of work from the year and choose your favourite few pictures.

Most of the assignments I undertake for The Times and Sunday Times are not of earth-shaking news events but everyday life.

I enjoy the challenge of the assignments and look for the humour and colour. Even if the job in hand seems dull and uninteresting, this can be where a great picture emerges.

The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

June 14: The royal family stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Colour. The crowd below chanted “Louis, Louis” when they saw the seven-year-old prince. When he heard them, he laughed and waved. After a while, his brother, Prince George, put an arm on him, indicating that it was enough

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

The Princess of Wales painting the hand of 4-year-old Maggie at a children's hospice.

January 30: The Princess of Wales paints the hand of Maggie, four, whose sibling is being treated at Ty Hafan, a children’s hospice in Sully, near Cardiff

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Prince William and two children spraying water from syringes, all wearing blue gloves.

January 29: I was the only photographer present when the Prince of Wales visited Naturemetrics, the Earthshot finalist, in Guildford. He told the children “see if you can get the photographer” and with real energy he aimed at me and tried several times to get me. Thankfully, I kept out of range

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Smiling officer cadets in military uniforms parade through a corridor.

August 8: The Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst military academy is always a favourite of mine to cover. After the parade, the officer cadets file through a corridor and are always in high spirits

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

A black horse rears up on a rocky beach with a rider on its back as other horses and riders stand nearby, and the sea is in the background.

June 26: Trooper Lewis Smith of the Life Guards regiment struggles to control the Household Cavalry horse Zenith while riding without a saddle on the beach at Hayling Island

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Veterinarian Elliott Simpson-Brown and his team monitor the heart and breathing of Lioness Lira while she undergoes critical dental work in a big cat sanctuary.

October 13: Lira, a three-year-old lioness, undergoes critical dental surgery at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent. Lira arrived in the UK from Ukraine on March 14 after a £500,000 campaign to rescue her and four other lions

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Aerial view of a boy on a red bicycle carrying a white box down a dirt path in a poor rural village.

November 25: In Colombia for The Times Christmas Appeal, I met 12-year-old Maixol, who uses his donated purpose-built bike to sell the bread baked by his aunt. I used a drone to show the landscape and poverty in which he lives and how much he and his family depend on these remarkable bicycles

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

A woman holds a baby, while another woman braids a girl's hair in the doorway of a corrugated iron home.

February 22: Marie Albertine prepares her daughter for school, while 15-year-old Anielle Radegonde holds her baby at their home in a slum on the outskirts of Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. I was on the island with the writer George Grylls to report on the plight of the descendants of the population of the Chagos Islands, who were forcibly deported from their home by the British, who built a military base there

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Three women run from a rainstorm, clutching drinks and an umbrella.

July 31: At ladies’ day at the glorious Goodwood Festival an almighty rainstorm swamped the course, catching everyone by surprise. I ducked into a doorway and caught this moment as a group of women ran for cover from the outside champagne bar still clutching their drinks

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

A smartly dressed gentleman stands in Waterloo train station looking up at the notice board for trains to Ascot.

June 20: A smartly dressed man stands in Waterloo station looking up at the departures board to Ascot on the third day of racing

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

King Charles III in military uniform and earmuffs, reacting to firing a 105mm artillery piece.

June 6: The King fires an L118 light gun during his visit to the Royal Artillery regimental headquarters in Larkhill, Wiltshire

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healy talking to ship's officers in front of F-35 fighter jets on an aircraft carrier at dawn, with a helicopter overhead.

April 24: The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and John Healey, the defence secretary, visit the crew before an eight-month deployment on HMS Prince of Wales

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales with a Union Jack flag in the foreground.

November 30: HMS Prince of Wales returns to Portsmouth after her deployment

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

A Royal Navy sailor in uniform kisses his loved one on a quayside after returning from deployment.

November 30: After eight months away, the crew were reunited with their loved ones. Having spent a short time on board during the deployment I knew how much they were looking forward to this moment

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Nigel Farage sips from a coffee cup with wide, surprised eyes.

August 22: When Nigel Farage was interviewed by Steven Swinford, the Times political editor, in his office in Clacton-on-Sea, he sipped his coffee just as Swinford asked a particularly pointed question. His reaction as he tried not to spill it made the best picture from the interview

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Pearly Kings and Queens sitting with Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

June 5: Pearly Kings and Queens sit with Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea as they wait for the start of the annual Chelsea Pensioner Founder’s Day, which commemorates the establishment of the hospital by Charles II

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Soldiers of the Guards division in red coats and tall black hats on parade.

May 31: Soldiers of the Guards Division on parade as part of the major general’s review before Trooping the Colour. Because it is a dress rehearsal, photographers are allowed into the positions that are taken by television cameras at the event. These positions give the best angles to capture the crisp lines of the guards on parade

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

The England women's football team, the "Lionesses," celebrate with the European cup outside 10 Downing Street.

July 28: The Lionesses reclaimed the European Championships in a heart-stopping penalty shoot-out. I was delighted to be able to photograph these inspirational women outside No 10 at a special reception

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

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