Over the course of her 70-year reign, the monarch was certainly used to having her image captured and shared across the globe. But there was one part of herself that she did not like to expose in pictures.
Top photographer, Rankin was among those lucky enough to have the chance to spend time with the Queen. He was one of ten photographers invited to take the Queen’s picture for her Golden Jubilee in 2002 – and he later revealed a surprising admission from the monarch.
Describing the sitting in an interview recorded before the Queen’s death, he told the Tea with Twiggy podcast: “Of course, she came in and this wave of empowerment washes over you.
“I’ve never felt that aura and she was just so funny from the minute she walked in. I was like, ‘I really want to photograph you holding the sword,’ and she said, ‘I don’t like my hands.’
“[I thought] that’s the best ‘get out’ for holding the sword. I’m probably not supposed to say that, but what I loved about her is she’s so smart and everything in response that she was saying had this amazing twist to it.
“It was just really, really brilliant. I loved it – I spent five minutes with her, so I don’t know her intimately.”
Rankin further revealed that before the shoot he had seen the Queen laughing and joking with a footman, which was something he wanted to capture.
He said, via The Times: “I was in the throne room and she was walking down this corridor and I could see her and the footman walking. They were both laughing, just cracking up, and I was like, ‘That’s what I want.’ So that was in my head the whole time.
“I got a really amazing note where the curator said my photograph of her is one of their favourites – which I think means the Palace’s favourite – because she’s really laughing in my picture.”
