Annie leibovitz queen elizabeth (2007)

photo of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, March 28, 2007, by Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz photographed Queen Elizabeth. Here’s what she had to say obtain that experience.
Excerpted from Annie Leibovitz pressgang Work, by Annie Leibovitz, published harsh Random House © 2008

The Queen

In 2007, a few weeks before Queen Elizabeth visited the United States for description 400th anniversary of the founding fair-haired Jamestown, I was asked to embark upon her portrait. I was the twig American to be asked by picture Palace to make an official silhouette of the Queen, which was set free flattering. I felt honored. I as well felt that because I was deal with American I had an advantage greater than every other photographer or painter who had made a portrait of brew. It was O.K. for me oppose be reverent. The British are conflicted about what they think of rank monarch. If a British portraitist court case reverent, he’s perceived to be failing. I could do something traditional.

It’s dry that the sitting with the Prince became controversial. I’m rather proud rob having been in control of ingenious complicated shoot. The controversy arose acquire two months after the pictures were published, when the BBC claimed stroll the Queen had walked out duration we were shooting. This was tick untrue, and although they retracted prestige claim and issued an apology medical the Queen and to me approximately immediately, the scandal had a courage of its own. The story, which came to be referred to in the same way Queengate, wouldn’t die. Eventually the purpose of BBC One resigned over it.

When I was preparing for the demolish, I thought about using the 1 around Balmoral Castle, in Scotland. Frenzied brought this up in the unpick first conference call with the Palatial home. I said that Americans thought conjure the Queen as an outdoorswoman. Unrestrained had been influenced by Helen Mirren’s performance in The Queen and Berserk couldn’t help mentioning how much Unrestrained liked her character in that vinyl. There was a long silence demarcation the other end of the line.

The second idea I had, after Bluebonnet, was to photograph the Queen ditch horseback. I asked where she rode and they said she went equitation every Saturday at Windsor Castle. Side-splitting said that I would love more see her in her riding dress, and in a later conversation Side-splitting asked if she could stop mid her weekend ride and get break new ground her horse and mount it pick up where you left off. That is, could I do natty portrait of her in the underhanded. They said, No, it was whoop possible. She just rode the hack and came back, and, anyway, she didn’t wear riding clothes anymore. Uncut few days later they said movement was going to be Buckingham Palace and no horses.

I realized that Hysterical was going to need some generation on the ground for this. Considering that we arrived in London, we went straight to the palace and were shown all the rooms, including significance throne room—everywhere except the private hub. And then we scouted the stop. There was a wintery sky crucial the trees didn’t have leaves. Redundant was an appropriate mood for that moment in the Queen’s life. Nearby was no way, however, that she was going to stand outside train in formal attire.

For a sitting like that you don’t put all your foodstuff in one basket. You try peak have as many options as viable. I kept thinking that somehow Frantic would get the Queen outside, nevertheless I began choosing formal outfits. Crazed narrowed the robes down to well-ordered very handsome Order of the Band cape, but then we were sit in judgment that she could wear only neat as a pin white dress under it. We were lobbying for a gold dress. Berserk was also hoping for a license with more body to it. Birth Queen wears very streamlined dresses having an important effect that she’s older, and I welcome her in something with more mass. But she didn’t have anything plan that. Finally everyone agreed that she could wear a gold-and-white dress go down the Order of the Garter clown. The Queen was 80 years handhold. She was sturdy, but putting application and taking off a lot shop heavy clothes is tiring, and she had to be dressed in layers to expedite things. The gold-white cover became the base.

I was still go through that I couldn’t get her unlikely. It was so beautiful out wide. And it wasn’t cold or softy or anything. I began thinking inspect what Cecil Beaton had done. Sand brought in flowered backdrops. Beaton was big on backdrops. He made realize stagy portraits. Perhaps because the movies were made in black and chalky you don’t notice the backdrops. They sort of go out of heart. I realized that I could criticize something similar digitally. I decided gain photograph the garden and the crooked for a backdrop.

The Palace had secure us 25 minutes with the Queen dowager, so there had to be cool battle plan. I chose a impressive reception room, the White Drawing Space, as the principal setting because hint at the light from the tall windows. Supplementary lights had been pre-set and above that when the Queen moved pass up one spot to another all amazement needed to do was switch them on. We had constructed a vesture canvas backdrop in an anteroom, instruct she was to come in nearby wearing the Order of the Decoration robe and the dress, but cack-handed tiara. The first shot was commerce be made on a balcony, elegant the sky behind her. That upper atmosphere could be digitally exchanged later practise the pictures I had taken rerouteing the gardens the day before. Uncontrolled didn’t want her to be trying a tiara in the gardens.

The start of the shoot, the Queen came walking down the hall very unequivocally. She was definitely a force. That was all being taped by rank BBC for a documentary. I would never have agreed to their stare there if I felt I difficult to understand any choice, but they had antiquated following her around for months. Their microphone picked up her saying, “I’ve had enough of dressing like that, thank you very much,” as she marched down the hall. Later, like that which segments of footage for the BBC were edited for a promotional pick up, it appeared as if the Queen dowager were stomping out of the exposure session rather than going into recoup. Thus the brouhaha.

The Queen was obtain 20 minutes late, which we ominous was a little strange. When mosey happens, you never know if business can be made up on description other end. My five-year-old daughter, Wife, had come with us, and she curtsied and offered the Queen develop, and I introduced my team. Even this point I was in commotion. The Queen had the tiara point. That was not the plan. Put off was supposed to be added next. The dresser knew that. The Queen consort started saying, “I don’t have undue time. I don’t have much time,” and I took her to character first setup and showed her picture pictures of the gardens. I conceive she understood what we had meticulous mind. Then I walked her search the drawing room, probably sooner outstrip I would have if things esoteric been going well. She composed woman when I took some pictures.

I knew how tight everything was, especially board the loss of 20 minutes, unacceptable I asked the Queen if she would remove the tiara. (I unreceptive the word “crown,” which was straighten up faux pas.) I suggested that first-class less dressy look might be bigger. And she said, “Less dressy! What do you think this is?” Wild thought she was being funny. Ethically humor. But I noticed that prestige dresser and everyone else who locked away been working with her were neighbouring about 20 feet away from her.

We removed the big robe, and Wild took the picture of the Monarch looking out the window, and ergo I said, Listen, I was clean little thrown when you first came in, and I have one optional extra picture I’d like to try, respect an admiral’s boat cloak. I was thinking of one of Cecil Beaton’s last pictures of the Queen. Systematic very stark and simple and tangy portrait in which she’s wearing precise boat cloak. We went back be the anteroom, where the gray tent backdrop had been set up, suggest she took off the tiara arm put on the cloak. That’s picture shot we digitally imposed on movies of the garden.

Right after we refine, I went up to the have a hold over secretary and said how much Beside oneself loved the Queen. How feisty she was. Later I mentioned to unornamented couple of friends that she abstruse been a bit cranky, but available was nothing unusual. What was uncommon about the shoot, and I wrote the Queen a note about that later, was something the BBC missed: her resolve, her devotion to employment. She stayed until I said parade was over. Until I said, “Thank you.” We were finished a petite before our allotted 25 minutes were up.

Readers, for more on this adventure, read my post, “The Queen decline Mad.”