New personal photos from the Royal Collection are being displayed for the first time in a new exhibit celebrating 100 years of royal photography.
The newly named King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace is showing over 150 items from the 1920s to today.
Royal Family Photos Revealed in New Exhibit
Curator Alessandro Nasini told GB News, “We are going from very private and personal [photographs] all the way to [King Charles III’s] coronation portraits, so you’ve got a full range of material.”
Intimate family moments, like a never-before-seen image of four royal mothers (Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, and the Duchess of Kent) holding their newborn babies, are on display alongside a private handwritten letter from Princess Margaret to her sister, Queen Elizabeth II.
The photo, taken by Princess Margaret’s husband Lord Snowdon, was a “personal token of thanks” for Sir John Peel, the royal obstetrician who delivered all four babies within two months in 1964.
Princess Margaret asked her sister “Darling Lilibet” to sign a print “as a souvenir of an extraordinary two months of delivery.”
A more relaxed engagement photograph of the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as one from their wedding day, is part of the exhibition.
Never-before-seen proofs sent to the Royal Family to choose their favorite images give a behind-the-scenes look at how iconic royal portraits were made.
Proofs from Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation sitting are one such example, alongside a note from Martin Charteris, the late Queen’s Assistant Private Secretary, recommending to Prince Philip which images should be sent as personal mementos to family members and Maids of Honour.
Unreleased wartime images of King George VI, the Queen Mother, the then-Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Margaret are also on display for the first time to show how the monarchy used photography to “project a sense of stability and hope for the nation.”
The earliest surviving color print of a member of the Royal Family is also on display, showing Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (sister-in-law to King George VI and Edward VIII) on her wedding day.
The photograph was taken in 1935 by Madame Yevonde, described as “a pioneer of color photography and champion of women photographers.”
More modern photographs such as the King’s Coronation portraits and Paolo Roversi’s 40th-birthday portrait of the Princess of Wales can be viewed by visitors.
The image of the princess bears a “striking resemblance” to an 1864 portrait of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter from the Royal Collection, which will hang nearby.
Curator Alessandro Nasini said, “I think the Royal Family, in general, understands the importance of photography and how immediate it is as a visual medium. It can reach everybody across the world. It’s a very powerful visual tool.”
‘Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography’
‘Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography’ features detailed information about the importance of “retouching” in royal photography.
Despite recent controversies around image manipulation, enhancing photographs has been common practice for decades.
An exhibition display board claims, “Retouching is an essential part of photography. It can be as simple as cropping an image, or as complex as removing entire backgrounds. Photographers and printers regularly work with retouchers who are specialized in this craft.”
For the first time, the Royal Collection Trust (RCT) is offering £1 gallery tickets to people receiving Universal Credits or other benefits. It is understood the RCT wants to make the collection as accessible to as many people as possible.
‘Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography’ opens Friday, May 17 at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, and closes on October 6, 2024.