Queen Elizabeth posed for her iconic Portraits by the legendary photographer Cecil Beaton at Buckingham Palace on this day in 1939, 85 years ago, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.
The telephone rang. “This is the lady-in-waiting speaking. The Queen wants to know if you will photograph her tomorrow afternoon” … In choosing me to take her photographs, the Queen made a daring innovation. It is inconceivable that her predecessor would have summoned me – my work was still considered revolutionary and unconventional. July 1939
Cecil Beaton’s first commission to photograph the queen was at Buckingham Palace on 28 July 1939. Although meant to last for 20 minutes, the sitting continued for over five hours and moved from the State Rooms to the gardens.
Beaton photographed a reigning queen for the first time. On Princess Olga of Yugoslavia’s recommendation, Queen Elizabeth invited the photographer to capture her at Buckingham Palace to document her now iconic White Wardrobe, designed by Norman Hartnell. ”It was, he wrote in his diary, a great thrill for me to go into the Palace for the first time … It was one of the rare times that of late I have been deeply thrilled, and as I walked behind a scarlet liveried page down miles of dark red carpeted corridors, I was walking on air”
The opportunity to photograph Queen Elizabeth, Queen Consort of King George VI, in 1939 was the high point of Beaton’s career to date. Published two months after the outbreak of the Second World War, his images presented a sense of continuity with a magnificent pre-war Britain.
Beaton’s photographs succeed in capturing something of the fairy-tale picture of monarchy that had so notably greeted the Parisian crowds a year earlier. Like Beaton, Hartnell sought inspiration for his royal commissions in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century state portraits. It is perhaps this shared point of reference that explains the extraordinary success of this sitting. The unquestionable synergy between the style and approach of both men served not only to transform the queen’s image from the rather stiff conventionality of her earlier portraits by such photographers as Bassano Ltd and Hay Wrightson, but also to bolster public enthusiasm for monarchy in the uneasy aftermath of the abdication.
Along with Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara and Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, the Queen wore some of the many gowns Norman Hartnell designed for the State Visit to France in 1938, known as the ‘White Wardrobe’, which became a fashion sensation, and they were employed here by Beaton to realise his romantic vision of idealised pastoral scenes.
Hartnell had been commissioned to produce Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe for the first state visit to Paris of the new reign in 1938. However, just five days before the monarchs’ departure, the queen’s mother, the Countess of Strathmore, died and the court went into mourning. Amid fears of war with Nazi Germany, the trip was considered too important to cancel and instead was delayed by three weeks. Hartnell’s pastel-hued wardrobe was no longer considered suitable, but neither did black seem appropriate for a summer visit designed to solidify the friendly alliance between Britain and France. In a stroke of diplomatic genius, Hartnell quickly reproduced his designs in white, the colour of medieval mourning.
The results caused a sensation, setting a new fashion for crinoline gowns and establishing London as an intentionally recognized centre for couture. British Vogue enthused, ‘The chic, the severe, the statuesque would be quite wrong for her. It’s a queen’s place to fashion, not follow, in the grand tradition of royal dressing’
Queen Elizabeth, full length, standing in the White Drawing Room, Buckingham Palace. She faces the camera, her body slightly angled to the right, and smiles. Her right hand lightly touches her chest, and she holds a closed fan in her left hand at her waist. Queen Elizabeth is illuminated by sunlight streaming in from a bay window beside her, and her shadow is cast in a shaft of light in front of her. She wears the Diamond Fringe Tiara with Queen Victoria’s Coronation Necklace Earrings and her own Coronation Rivière with a Norman Hartnell silk tulle gown decorated with sequins.
Queen Elizabeth faces the viewer and wears a Diamond Fringe Tiara with Queen Victoria’s Coronation Necklace Earrings and her own Coronation Rivière, with a Hartnell crinoline dress. Photographed in the Blue Drawing Room, Buckingham Palace.
Photograph of Queen Elizabeth standing by a pillar in Buckingham Palace. The Queen wears a Hartnell crinoline dress with a Diamond Fringe Tiara and faces the viewer.
Queen Elizabeth, seated on a gilt upholstered couch in the White Drawing Room, Buckingham Palace. She faces the camera and turns her head to the left, her face captured in profile. She holds a closed fan with both hands on her lap. She wears a Norman Hartnell satin embroidered gown, a sash, Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, and matching earrings and necklace, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bracelet, and Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch. The Garter Star is pinned to her dress.
Queen Elizabeth, seated, facing the camera, her face captured in profile looking left. She holds a fan with both hands in her lap. She wears a Norman Hartnell satin embroidered gown, a sash, Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, and matching earrings and necklace, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bracelet, and Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch. The Garter Star is pinned to her dress. She poses in front of a painted backdrop depicting arches covered in greenery.
Queen Elizabeth, seated in left side profile in the Summer House on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Her eyes are downcast and she smiles. She is seated between two supports featuring classical male torsos and holds a parasol in her right hand. She wears Queen Alexandra’s wedding earrings, long white gloves, a white tulle and lace dress with a matching, wide brimmed hat.
Some of the garden photographs were shot in backlight and Beaton recalled the queen quipping: ‘How the King will laugh when I tell him you photographed me directly against the sun. We have to spend our time running round to face the sun for the King’s snapshots.’
Queen Elizabeth standing alongside the Waterloo Vase within the gardens at Buckingham Palace. She stands facing three-quarters to the left and holds a parasol. She wears a white lace dress and a matching, wide-brimmed hat.
The Waterloo Vase is made from a single piece of Carrara marble originally reserved by the Emperor Napoleon, but given to the Prince Regent in 1815. The vase, which is over 5m tall, is carved with scenes from the battle. It was intended as the centrepiece of the Waterloo Chamber, but was too heavy for the floor to bear and now stands in the gardens at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth, facing left, her head turned towards the camera. She holds a parasol in her right hand, placing the tip into the ground. She wears three pearl necklaces, long white gloves, a diamond bracelet, a white tulle and lace dress with a matching wide brimmed hat. The photograph was taken on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, and the background features a pond and a number of trees.
Queen Elizabeth, standing, facing left. She holds a parasol with both hands, placing it over her head. She wears three pearl necklaces, long white gloves, Queen Alexandra’s wedding earrings, a diamond bracelet, a white tulle and lace dress with a matching wide brimmed hat. The photograph was taken on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, and the Palace features in the background.
Queen Elizabeth, seated on a gilt and upholstered couch in Buckingham Palace. Sunlight streaming in from a window on the left illuminates Queen Elizabeth. She wears two pearl necklaces and a silk and tulle Norman Hartnell gown decorated with sequins. Queen Elizabeth is surrounded by ornate furnishings and decoration including a patterned carpet and chandeliers.
