Royal portraits over past century on display in new exhibition - from newborn babies to wartime assurance
A new Buckingham Palace exhibition is set to display previously unreleased images of the Royal Family over the past century.
Following the release of The King's first official portrait since the coronation, visitors will get a chance to view more than 150 pictures at The King's Gallery from Friday until October.
Alongside some of the works will be letters written between the Royals, which the exhibitioners promise offers a "behind-the-scenes insight" into the process behind the displayed images.
Among the selection is an unreleased image of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth inspecting bomb damage at Buckingham Palace during the Second World War.
Taken by photographer Cecil Beaton, the pair are seen smiling at each other, with such pictures hoped to project stability and hope for the nation.
Another taken by Antony Armstrong-Jones shows Queen Elizabeth II with her husband five years into her reign in 1958.
The oldest surviving surviving photographic print of a member of the Royal Family produced in colour shows King George VI's sister-in-law Princess Alice on her wedding day in 1935
This photograph was taken by Madame Yevonde, said to be a pioneer of colour photography and champion of women photographers.
More intimate moments will also be on show, including one newly-released image of four new royal mothers - Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and The Duchess of Kent - holding their babies.
This image was taken by Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's photographer husband, as a thanks to the royal obstetrician, Sir John Peel, who delivered all four babies within two months in 1964.
Lord Snowdon would take many pictures of the Royals behind the scenes, including this portrait of his wife.
Another picture of Princess Margaret was taken on her 25th birthday, showing her in an evening gown with her dog Pippin in her lap.
Fast forward another generation, and Kate, current Princess of Wales, is pictured on her 40th birthday when she was the Duchess of Cambridge.
That picture above is said to strike a resemblance with this 1864 portrait of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, which will hang nearby.
A more modern take on portraits will be seen by Rankin's colourful shot of a smiling Queen Elizabeth II superimposed on the Union flag.
