The Final Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
For me, I think like most of us, the Queen’s passing happened pretty fast from the moment the media said she was unwell to the announcement on the 8th.
Again, like a lot of people, it hit me far more than I imagined it would. Something fundamental had changed.
I got a fair amount of calls about my ‘reaction’ which I mostly batted off. The only thing I was qualified to discuss were my portraits. The official Jubilee image was used quite a lot and I did a Channel 4 interview discussing it alongside painter Nicky Philipps who I’d worked with on a portrait of HM in 2012. The interview was done outside of Buckingham Palace on the evening of the 9th, just 24 hours after the Queen’s passing. It was a very weird atmosphere with lots of people quietly milling around taking selfies.
The next day I went to Pembrokeshire for a week’s holiday with the family. We drove back on the Sunday before the funeral and 15 minutes into the journey I got an unexpected call asking if I could send the head and shoulders portrait in that afternoon!
Fortunately, my brilliant post production man, John Deaville, was home and able to retrieve the image from my back up and prepare it for publication at very short notice.
It was released around 8pm and was seen around the globe. I was very happy that the decision to release it was made as I love this portrait. It was taken at the same time as the official Jubilee portrait and when the Queen died I thought it would never be released. I think it was a bold move that really worked as the worldwide response was so positive. The Queen looks so bright and joyful and I am honoured that I was given the opportunity to take this portrait. If my Dad was still around it may have finally convinced him that I hadn’t made a terrible mistake in choosing my profession.
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