The Queen and her prints: Her Majesty’s reign in pictures

By BRIAN FERGUSON
Published on 16/11/2012 00:00

Sixty years of Royal photographs go on display in Edinburgh today to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

THEY span six decades, including everything from formal portraits and moments of deep thought to relaxed holiday snaps. From Trooping the Colour, the Derby and the Braemar Gathering to the State Opening of Parliament, the Queen’s every move has been captured by the world’s photographers.

Now a selection of images, specially chosen to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, have gone on display in Edinburgh at Holyrood Palace.

Scottish shots include the famous picture at the 2006 Braemar Gathering, showing the Queen in relaxed mode, alongside Charles and Camilla. Also on display is a rarely seen photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, along with Princess Anne and Prince Charles, in the grounds of Balmoral in 1955 when they posed for a picture which was used as the Royal Family’s official Christmas card that year.

The Royals are captured in a traditional holiday portrait on a trip to the Western Isles aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1985, while another shot shows the Queen arriving at Aberdeen Airport with her dogs in 1974. The great ceremonial occasions captured include the Order of the Thistle ceremony at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh in 1955.

Among the milestones featured in the exhibition are the Queen examining 80th birthday cards and a visit by John F Kennedy to Buckingham Palace in 1961. Trips overseas are documented, with images of visits to Mexico in 1975, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu in 1982 and India in 1983.

Exhibition curator Lisa Heighway says: “The wonderful thing about the exhibition is that it presents us with a portrait of the Queen in her many roles, as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and Head of State, both at home in the UK, and during some of her many travels around the world.”

• The Queen: 60 Photographs for 60 Years is at the Queen’s Gallery at Holyrood Palace until 24 February.