Know the story behind photo used by the palace to announce Queen Elizabeth II's demise

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, and the Royal Family announced her death with a gorgeous black-and-white image. The black-and-white portrait of the longest-reigning British queen, which was posted on Twitter and Instagram along with the news of her demise, was taken more than 15 years ago when she was commemorating a significant occasion. Sharing the news, The Royal Family wrote on Twitter, "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

Story behind the stunning black-and-white portrait

For the Queen's 80th birthday in February 2006, the portrait was taken at Buckingham Palace by the late photographer Jane Bown, who was 81 at the time. The information was mentioned in Bown's book Exposures from 2009.

According to a description of the photograph provided by the Royal Collection Trust (RCT), "Queen Elizabeth II selected Jane Bown to take a photographic portrait at the start of her eightieth birthday year. Bown (a fellow octogenarian) worked as a professional photographer since the late 1940s."

The image was also included in the Royal Collection Trust's 2012 show 'The Queen: 60 Photographs for 60 Years,' which commemorated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Notably, Queen Elizabeth II was only the second British monarch to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee, following her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901), who did so in 1897.

Bown was acknowledged by the Royal Collection Trust for her "unpretentious technique, working at speed, using only available light, and painting in black and white rather than colour." According to The Independent, Bown, who died in December 2014 at the age of 89, once stated, "I spent my whole life worrying about time and light; if I had time, it was something, but if I had light, it was even better."

Bown called herself 'just a hack'

She has been photographing for The Observer since 1949, and she has received an MBE in 1985, a CBE in 1995, and an honorary fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2000. When Queen Elizabeth referred to her as an artist during her CBE ceremony in 1995, Bown retorted, "I am not an artist, I am just a hack."

On the afternoon of September 8, Queen Elizabeth died at the age of 96. Her death follows that of her husband for 73 years, Prince Philip, who died in June 2021 at the age of 99. She is instantly succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III, 73, who is now the monarch.

Image: Twitter