The story behind the portrait used to announce Queen Elizabeth’s death
Black-and-white portrait was taken over 15 years ago, on the occasion of the queen’s Diamond Jubilee
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Your support makes all the difference.Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday (8 September), and the Royal Family’s announcement of her death was accompanied by a black-and-white photograph.
The official social media accounts for the Royal Family confirmed the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch with a portrait taken by Jane Bown on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday, over 15 years ago.
Made a CBE in 1995, Brown requested the opportunity to photograph the Queen on her 80th birthday in 2006, seated in the blue drawing room.
In a 2014 interview with The Independent, the late photographer had recalled: “I circled the chair, running off about three rolls.
“I like the shot of the Queen smiling gently as her lady-in-waiting came into the room...,” she added.
In the end, the palace chose the more formal, head-on portrait for its collection.
In its description, as posted on the website of the Royal Collection Trust, Queen Elizabeth II had selected Jane Bown to take a head-and-shoulder portrait at the start of her eightieth birthday year.
It was taken at Buckingham Palace.
Bown began her career as a professional photographer in the late 1940s.
After a brief period photographing weddings and taking portraits of children, Bown joined The Observer in 1949.
Bown, who died in December 2014 at the age of 89, always shot in black and white, and used natural light. Having briefly tried colour during the 1960s, she found it “noisy and distracting”.
She told The Independent:“I prefer the simplicity and directness of black and white. It emphasises the underlying patterns of light and dark and confers a natural harmony on the subject.”
At her 1995 CBE ceremony, Bown’s response to Queen Elizabeth calling her an artist was simply: “I am not an artist, I’m just a hack.”
The Queen died “peacefully” at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon (8 September), according to Buckingham Palace, having spent 70 years as head of state, outlasting her predecessors and overseeing monumental changes in social and political life.
Leading tributes from around the world, King Charles III described his mother as “much loved” and a “cherished sovereign”.
Sir Tom Jones, Daniel Craig, Janet Jackson, and Elton John are among the many celebrities to have paid tribute.
The official announcement came at 6.40pm, shortly after senior royals rushed to Balmoral to be at the Queen’s side. Earlier in the day, the House of Commons had been told that the Queen was under medical supervision because doctors were concerned for her health.
Charles, whose wife, Camilla, is now Queen Consort, said the death of his “beloved” mother was a “moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family”.
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