Gazette photographer's picture of Prince Charles reaches competition final

After a week-long public vote, Jane's picture of Prince Charles at The Alnwick Garden during a two-day visit to Northumberland last month made it into the top three in the Regional/Local Newspaper Rota Photo of the Year category of the competition run by News Media Association.

The contest is a showcase of the best royal photography by the local, regional and national news media industry, taken at Royal Rota engagements.

The vote closed at 5pm on Friday and the three (five for the special category) pictures to have received the most votes in each of four categories have been revealed today (Thursday).

The pictures will now be judged by a panel of experts, with the winners announced next week.

Jane said: "I am really grateful to everyone who voted for my picture and feel honoured to be in the final - now the competition really gets tough!"

In the same category, Jane's picture is up against:

Duke of Cambridge Unveiling Frank Foley Statue (Tim Thursfield, Express & Star)

Duke & Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day (Adam Fairbrother, Lynn News)

The judging panel is: Alan Sparrow, UK Picture Editors Guild chairman; Chris Eades, The British Press Photographers' Association chairman; Lynne Anderson, NMA deputy chief executive; Martin Keene, Press Association group picture editor; Dr Michael Pritchard, The Royal Photographic Society chief executive.

The shortlisted pictures in the other categories are:

National Newspaper Rota Photo of the Year

Duke & Duchess of Sussex during Wedding Procession (Craig Hibbert, Mail on Sunday)

Duke of Sussex Having His Beard Pulled (Ian Vogler, Daily Mirror)

Royal Wedding Car with Children (Philip Ide, Mail on Sunday)

Rota Picture Agency Rota Photo of the Year

Duchess of Sussex Walking Down Aisle (Danny Lawson, Press Association)

Duke & Duchess of Sussex Royal Wedding Carriage from Above (Yui Mok, Press Association)

Duke of Edinburgh's Last Solo Engagement (Hannah McKay, Reuters)

Special Category - Rota photographs of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle together

Duke & Duchess of Sussex during Wedding Procession (Craig Hibbert, Mail on Sunday)

Duke & Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day (Adam Fairbrother, Lynn News)

Duke & Duchess of Sussex Royal Wedding Carriage from Above (Yui Mok, Press Association)

Duke & Duchess of Sussex at Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup (James Veysey, Camera Press)

Duke & Duchess of Sussex Visiting Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast (Niall Carson, Press Association)

The competition was launched by the NMA to promote the outstanding work of photographers in the UK news media and the NMA’s media facilities services for members. The NMA manages the Royal Rota on behalf of its members, allocating passes for the hundreds of Royal engagements undertaken by members of the Royal Family each year and ensuring that the material is pooled among members.