Watch: Queen Elizabeth II takes her crown off for Annie Leibovitz
Dec 25, 2019
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I’m sure you’ve all had difficult and demanding clients and had a hard time directing them during the shoot. But how about making The Queen of England take her crown off for you so you can take a photo? Well, Annie Leibovitz did this, and it’s all saved in a video.
This video is pretty old, but it was recently posted to Reddit and it got lots of reactions. After watching it, I understood why. It shows a photoshoot Annie Leibovitz and her 11 assistants had in 2007. They took the task seriously and spent three weeks preparing for a 30-minute shoot. However, it took longer than expected for the queen to put on her elaborate costume. As a consequence, the beginning of the shoot was delayed by 15 minutes. I guess something can always go wrong, no matter how well you prepare. That’s a useful life lesson, by the way.
Still, despite the delay, Leibovitz had a few different setups in mind even for that short time. She decided for some last-minute changes and asked Queen Elizabeth to take the tiara off for one of the photos, adding that she will look less “dressy.” As one may expect, she got a pretty harsh no and even got scolded by The Queen. But I just love the photographer’s reaction.
Instead of giving up on her idea, Leibovitz just found a way to turn it into a photo. With a smile and in a kind tone, she quickly persuaded The Queen to remove the crown and photographed her without it.
I’m generally a fan of Annie Leibovitz and her work, and this video made me respect her even more. I believe that her attitude is exactly how a professional should act even when they have a demanding client, get scolded, or have their ideas rejected.
[Queen Elizabeth – Photoshoot by Annie Leibovitz via Reddit]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.




































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13 responses to “Watch: Queen Elizabeth II takes her crown off for Annie Leibovitz”
Why is everyone suddenly sharing this 12 year old story?
John Atkin the article explains it, and being 12 years old there are people who haven’t seen it.
Alexander L. Harris getting comments on Reddit makes it newsworthy?
I was just out of high school in 2007. And I wasn’t even into photography 12 years ago, so this is the first time I saw it. And I loved it!
If everyone does, you have to do it too…
*off not of
Oops, too much eggnog! Just kidding.Thanks, it’s been fixed :)
Dunja Djudjic ? haha
She doesn’t really even get told off, it’s just saying no
That’s the Queen for ya!
Someone needs a proofreader for Christmas
“But how about making The Queen of England take her crown off four you so you can take a photo?”
Well, only Grammarly, Word’s spell check and I are at work today, but I guess all of us missed this mistake. Thanks for pointing it out, I corrected it :)
Every article is saying she was “scolded by The Queen” for click bait but it wasn’t even remotely that and the Queen was laughing it off about the crown being too dressing when she had the rest of the outfit on…