As the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, National Geographic remembers her life and legacy through the eyes of our photographers—including rare images that have never been published
sat on an ancient throne, her eyes downcast. Moments before she had been clad in white. Now she was Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth realms—shoulders wrapped in golden cloth, hands clasping jeweled scepters, and head heavy with a crown. Cries of “God save the Queen!” echoed throughout Westminster Abbey as silver trumpets blared.
And what a lifetime. From Elizabeth's debut as a newly crowned sovereign to the waning days of her reign,was there to document the remarkable life of the queen in her role as public figure, as well as to capture rare glimpses of the private life Elizabeth guarded so carefully.National Geographic Ross wanted images from the ceremony, but he balked at the fact Jarché would be using an unwieldy 4 x 5 camera favored by news agencies at the time. When he found out that Jarché was a gearhead with a love for newfangled “miniature” photography formats, the editor persuaded him to sneak in a Leica camera and 35mm Kodachrome film just for the magazine. A light meter was thrown in to sweeten the deal for Jarché, who agreed.
, capturing every unscripted gesture and movement with his Leica. In his images, the young queen was gradually overtaken by symbol after symbol—robe, scepter, orb—her attendants literally heaping her with the trappings of a royal dynasty.But there was a fly in the ointment.
It was a loss of innocence that foreshadowed the chaos that would soon engulf the royal family—and complicated things even for decidedly non-tabloid photojournalists. Elizabeth II and Prince Charles wave to the crowd after the Prince of Wales's investiture in 1969. Though the ceremony formally installed Charles, it took place against a background of growing Welsh nationalism.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
The backdrop was clouds and stony castle walls, but the resulting photographs were vibrant. “It was a fantastic setting,” says Woolfitt, who is British. “Lots and lots of pageantry; lots of what we do well.” “When you pressed the button, it was set in stone,” says Woolfitt, who used the film to photograph the queen’s 1961 Opening of Parliament ceremony. “Gives you gray hairs early.”
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