Annie Leibovitz shoots British Royal Family portraits for The Queen’s 90th birthday celebration

April 21, 2016 by John Aldred 13 Comments

Today marks the 90th birthday of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and to record the occasion, celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz was chosen to create portraits of the Queen and her family.

While Annie is no stranger to photographing The Queen, their last professional interaction didn’t seem to go too well at all, and given their attitude towards some photographers, even if they might deserve it, it seems slightly surprising that Annie would be invited back for such a major event.

Here, The Queen poses with two of her grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

A second image shows The Queen with four of her beloved dogs on the private grounds of Windsor Castle.

In a third image released today, The Queen sits with her daughter, Princess Anne.

Also to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, a set of commemorative 1st Class stamps are being produced from a photograph created last year by Ranald Mackechnie of The Queen with her son Prince Charles, grandson Prince William and great grandson Prince Harry who are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in line to the throne, respectively.

The 90th Birthday stamp collections available from the Royal Mail website.

No word yet on whether or not a behind the scenes documentary will be forthcoming this time, so here’s one from Annie and The Queen’s last shoot together in 2007, courtesy of the BBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTECfGfoMI

Also, here’s the BBC’s attempt at mopping up after the controversy surrounding the trailer for the above documentary.

About John Aldred

John Aldred is based in Scotland and photographs people in the wild and animals in the studio.

You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.

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Danny Max

Does she often photograph Scroungers who live off the state and refuse to do a decent days hard work ? The royal family are nothing but rich ponces !
- Fred Smith
  
  They are a paying client.
- Doug Owens
  
  Shit for brains!
Walt Mateja Sr.

On one occasion that she was photographing the queen, Annie got in trouble when she directed the queen toi remove her crown… I learned this when I met her at the Jefferson Awards a couple years ago and the story is related in her book.
- John Aldred
  
  That event is in the two videos at the bottom of the article. :)
- Walt Mateja Sr.
  
  Yep, thanks
- Walt Mateja Sr.
  
  Annie is quite a interesting person. When I interviewed her, she talked about having just photographed John and Yoko on the same day, right before he was killed. I was interested in how she felt when she got the news, and she really expressed no emotion, but just talked about the back and forth discussion between her and Yoko on how the bed photo should be done… i.e. clothes/no clothes etc. Needless to say, I was much surprised at how detached she was, especially because she had spent some time travelling and touring with the Beatles. I always feel an emotional connection of some kind with people that I photograph.
Dave Shemano

she said “just wear your grubbiest most comfortable clothes”
Albion

@NicholasGoodden A sepia-tinted feel suggesting timeless British values – needed now more than ever. #OneLandOnePeople
Eddy Kamera

Definitely British. Check out the weather. :)
Robin

A lot of re touching to hide the flash in the mirror, or just use reflactors?
- nace zavrl
  
  Lol , r u serious?
TheInconvenientRuth

That pose of the Queen on the steps though… Not saying the Queen should strike a Vogue pose and I fully understand this is meant to be a ‘candid’ shot, but this is fairly unflattering, I’d say…