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The new portrait of Elizabeth II on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee, where she poses in front of Windsor Castle, released on June 1, 2022.ROYAL HOUSEHOLD/RANALD MACKECHNI (via REUTERS)
Sitting before a window, smiling, without a crown, sceptre, tunic, decorations or anything of the sort, as in other Jubilee portraits.
This time, for the official portrait that Buckingham Palace of Elizabeth II distributed this Thursday on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee, the queen appears with a half smile, dressed in blue, with a pearl necklace, hands in her lap ( in which you can see her watch and her engagement ring, the one given to her more than 75 years ago by the late Philip of Edinburgh) and with one of the towers of Windsor Castle in the background.
With this image the celebrations of his 70 years on the throne begin, whose festivities start this Thursday and will bring four days of revelry, parades and concerts throughout the United Kingdom —and by the Commonwealth of Nations— that will make forget all the crises to the that the country is facing.
The official portrait of Elizabeth II is far from others previously published, where she could be seen with the weight of the crown, perhaps more serious, more as if her effigy sought to illustrate a seal or the reverse of a coin.
This time, the Isabel reflected in the portrait is more Lilibet than Elizabeth, Regina (as she signs her official documents), more human, more grandmother (of eight grandchildren) and more great-grandmother (of 12 great-grandchildren).
Also the 96 years of her, met last April, it is likely that they have helped in part to sweeten that image of her.
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It was just a week ago when the photo was taken, on May 25.
In it, in addition to the queen, obviously, the protagonist is the setting: Windsor.
This time Elizabeth II has not felt compelled to pose in Buckingham, her cold official residence in London, but rather she has chosen to smile at the camera where she has always been her home.
That immense castle located an hour from the British capital was where she took refuge when she was a child in World War II and also in the pandemic, and that is where she has already settled, making the place her headquarters.
The portrait has been taken by Ranald Mackechnie, who has already photographed the queen in another of his iconic images of recent years: in January 2020 he posed with his eldest son, Carlos, his grandson Guillermo and his eldest son, Jorge , that is, the three men who are likely to succeed her on the British throne.
In his social profiles, Mackechnie has been "delighted" with the commission.
“If my father was still around I think this would have convinced him that I didn't make a huge mistake choosing photography as a profession,” he wrote.
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A post shared by Ranald Mackechnie (@ranaldmacphotographer)
Along with the image, the monarch also wanted to send a message to her people.
“Thank you to everyone who has gotten involved in bringing together communities, families, neighbors and friends to mark my Platinum Jubilee, in the UK and across the Commonwealth.
I am aware that this festive occasion will help create many happy memories.
I continue to be inspired by the goodwill that has been shown to me, and I hope that the days ahead will be an opportunity to reflect on all that we have achieved over the past seventy years, while looking to the future with confidence and enthusiasm." , to later sign Elizabeth R.
This is the second portrait of the queen on the occasion of her 70 years on the throne, since on February 6, the exact day on which the anniversary of her accession to the throne was commemorated, she shared another.
Dressed in green, Elizabeth II posed in one of the rooms of her Sandringham residence (where she usually spends Christmas and the month of January) and was seen next to one of the red boxes in which she keeps official documents .