Ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated this symbolic date for the last time in 2022. A day immortalized by a photographer who decided to unveil Monday, February 6, 2023 one of his precious shots of the late queen.
If the Royal Family and the British people already have in mind the coronation of King Charles III, which will take place at Westminster on May 6, last year, at this time, Elizabeth II was the center of attention. On February 6, 2022, The Queen, who died on September 8, 2022, had indeed decided to appear in front of the camera, despite her fragile health, to celebrate an important date: that of her ascension to the throne, in 1952. A moment out of time immortalized by the journalist Chris Jackson, who decided to bring out Monday, February 6, 2023 one of his beautiful photos taken of His Majesty.
“It is one year to the day that I took this photo to mark the day of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. One of her last official photos. She is seen working on her iconic red box with a smile on her face as she prepares for the Platinum Jubilee. Such a memorable preparation for this unforgettable weekend…”, wrote the professional with emotion on his Twitter account in description of this shot. Indeed, sitting on a large armchair of her property in Sandringham, facing a vermeil-colored box opened in front of her, the grandmother of Princes William and Harry was immortalized in an elegant anise green suit. Behind her, the portrait of her father, King George VI, posed in a frame. “What a wonderful photo of the Queen! Hard to believe that it was a year ago,” commented an Internet user, visibly moved.
Elizabeth II: the secrets of her red box
This photo is quite representative of the daily life of Elizabeth II during her seventy years of reign. Indeed, her faithful red box that can be seen on this picture taken by Chris Jackson was deposited every day. In it, her private secretaries slipped her daily the national press, but also documents allowing her to be up to date on the affairs of the different countries of the Commonwealth, but also on the parliamentary news. The BBC reported that between 2002 and 2007, the British government spent more than 67,700 euros (57,260 pounds sterling) on red boxes, just that!
Photo credits: Avalon/Panoramic/Bestimage