The Queen Mother’s personal portrait of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, at her coronation in 1953 will be among 150 prints, proofs and documents from the Royal Collection and Royal Archives being displayed to the public in Scotland for the first time next year.
Being homed in The King’s Gallery at the Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh, the collection will move from its current location in The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, London.
Royal Portraits: A Century Of Photography will chronicle the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the coronation of King Charles in 2023.
It will include the earliest surviving color portrait of a member of the royal family, taken by pioneer of the medium Yevonde Middleton (no relation to Catherine, Princess of Wales) in 1935. It depicts Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester – and sister-in-law to King George VI and Edward VIII – on her wedding day.
Photographers’ correspondence and handwritten annotations will also be on display, offering a fascinating insight into the commissioning and creative process of shooting the Royal family.
Photographs of Princess Margaret, taken by her husband Lord Snowdon before and after their marriage in 1960, form a section of the exhibit. And later photographs taken by Andy Warhol, including a diamond dust-sprinkled screen print of the late Queen, as well as well-known fashion photographs by David Bailey, Nick Knight and Annie Leibovitz, will also be on display.
"The Royal Collection holds some of the most enduring photographs ever taken of the Royal Family, captured by the most celebrated portrait photographers of the past hundred years – from Dorothy Wilding and Cecil Beaton to Annie Leibovitz, David Bailey, and Rankin," said Alessandro Nasini, curator of the exhibition.
"Alongside these beautiful vintage prints, which cannot be on permanent display for conservation reasons, we are excited to share archival correspondence and never-before-seen proofs that will give visitors a behind-the-scenes insight into the process of creating such unforgettable royal portraits."
A photograph taken in 1966 by Godfrey Argent to mark the birthday of Charles, now King but then Prince of Wales, showing him in a Balmoral tartan kilt will be visible, and the exhibit will conclude with the King’s official coronation portraits taken by Hugo Burnard in May 2023.
Royal Portraits: A Century Of Photography will be open to the public from February 28 until September 07 2025. For more information, visit the Royal Trust Collection website.
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