Happy Birthday to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who was born on April 21, 1926. Her Majesty turns 88 years old today.
Above is the new portrait by David Bailey to mark Her Majesty’s birthday. What do you think of the photo? I love that she’s smiling, but (for me) it seems too informal for a portrait of the Queen.
Nonsense, I think this is about as informal a portrait of Her Majesty that we’re likely to see. For 88, she looks beautiful and I can only hope she reigns for many years to come, so it shortens the time we have to suffer through King “George VII” and then King Willy.
Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth II! I may trash her granddaughter-in-law but I have the utmost respect for the Queen. Strong, intelligent, shrewd, a devoted wife and a dedicated monarch, long live the Queen! Personally I like this pic. She has enough formal portraits, I think more of her personality shines through in this one, it captures her twinkle.
I love her smile and everything, but I like seeing the Queen in tiaras. I think she should wear a tiara all the time, just because she’s the Queen and can.
I think so too.
I agree with everyone above. Her majesty has a wonderful sense of duty and decorum, with a marvelous knowledge of history and trying to incorporate all that to serving her people. Her devotion to her family is touching as well. I think much of this sense was instilled by her parents, especially her mother, the Queen Mum. However, I think sometimes the Queen mother overdid it at times, as I think she made too many inflexible decisions that her daughter went along with, up until she died. It seems once the QM passed, the entire family breathed a sigh of relief and it was reflected in some of the softening of the monarchy we see today, i.e. Charles marrying Camilla, Kate not being a virgin upon her wedding, Kate not always following the RF dress code, etc. Nonetheless, long live Queen Elizabeth and Happy Birthday!
The observation about the rigidity of the Queen Mum is quite pertinent and insightful. I had not thought of things that way.
Yeah, actually I have put alot of thought and research into the Queen Mother. Yes, she also served loyally all her life, but her old-fashioned ways, IMO helped make Diana miserable. Everything with the QM was duty/devoir, despite any personal feelings or circumstance. That may have worked in the 1920’s – 1940’s, but by the time of Charles & Diana, the world was a bit different. Yet, in the QM mind, tradition mattered more. Also, I think she was very afraid Diana would lead her beloved grandson, Charles, into some kind of constitutional crisis, similar to King Edward VII (David was his given name). If you remember, it was the QM that basically called all the shots regarding Wallis & Edward, and she never forgot that. Poor Diana, I am not so sure she realized this, but I am sure it was a factor in her miserable life with the RF.
I mean Edward VIII (sorry).
Actually Edward VIII’s first name really was Edward. David was one of his middle names and he went by that.
Very astute re the Queen Mother. I almost think the entire British Monarchy would have been better had the QM not been such a presence all those years. She was far too demanding and, from what I have read, hated having to defer to her daughter.
I think it is a nice picture. Kinda offsets that hideous one that Waity recently unveiled in NZ. I have mixed feelings about Queen Elizabeth. I think she is takes her responsibility as a monarch quite seriously and has a great sense of decorum. Clearly she is hard working and wants to be visible to the people. However, I also feel her first duty has always been to the MONARCHY and not necessarily to the people she represents. I imagine she feels a great weight to see that her family continues to reign whether that is in fact in the best interest of the UK.
That’s a good point – regarding the Queen’s first duty being that of the monarchy, not the people. That helps explains alot for why the RF chooses to do what they do.
Eh, I like seeing tiaras.
The hierarchy of duties for every monarch ever goes like this 1) Preserve the Monarchy for myself and my heirs, 2) Serve the people. Self preservation always takes the top spot.
Well, I liked the queen better when she didn’t smile so widely.
The toothy grins of the rich and famous remind me of public relations coaching. Which she doesn’t need – she’s worked hard for much of her adult life and everyone knows it.
Maybe I’m just stuck in the olden days and got used to her the other way
You can easily tell a genuine smile from a fake smile: if the sides of the mouth are pulled out, then it’s fake; if the sides of the mouth are pulled up, then it’s real.
I like seeing her in lots of jewelry, and tiaras, for portraits.