10 Glittering Royal Birthday Portraits of the Queen

Today, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrates her 95th birthday. While the occasion will be filled with less pomp than usual, I thought we could mark the milestone here with a set of 10 glittering portraits taken throughout her reign. Enjoy the sparkle!

This portrait of a young Elizabeth II, taken in the 1950s, features several important jewels, including the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings, the Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace, the Dorset Bow Brooch, and one of Queen Mary’s Chain-Link Bracelets.

On Coronation Day in June 1953, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh posed for this official portrait. The Queen wears the Imperial State Crown, as well as the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.

In this bejeweled portrait of the Queen, taken at the time of the coronation in 1953, she pairs King George IV’s Diamond Diadem with floral earrings and pearls.

For her official 43rd birthday portrait, which was taken at Buckingham Palace by Cecil Beaton in 1969, the Queen wore the pearl setting of the Vladimir Tiara with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace.

This official portrait, taken in November 1972, was released to mark the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s silver wedding anniversary. The Queen wears the Diamond Diadem with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings and the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet.

Following the State Opening of Parliament in 1976, the Queen posed at Buckingham Palace for this official portrait, which was used as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations the following year. In the image, the Queen wears the Imperial State Crown with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace.

This official portrait, featuring the Queen wearing the Diamond Diadem with Queen Mary’s Ruby Cluster Earrings and the Greville Ruby Necklace, was released in June 1987.

This portrait of the Queen and the Duke, taken at Buckingham Palace, was also released in 1987. The Queen wears the pearl setting of the Vladimir Tiara with the Gloucester Pendant Earrings and Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace.

This unusual royal portrait of the Queen, titled “Lightness of Being,” was made by Chris Levine in 2007. The image features an image made with a lenticular printing process layered over a lightbox. In the image, the Queen wears the Diamond Diadem with Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Gift Earrings and a single strand of pearls.

This formal portrait, featuring Elizabeth II in her role as Queen of New Zealand, was taken in 2011 ahead of the Diamond Jubilee the following year. In the image, taken by Julian Calder, the Queen wears Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, the City of London Fringe Necklace, the New Zealand Silver Fern Brooch, and one of Queen Mary’s Chain-Link Bracelets.

If you missed our recent series cataloguing 95 of the Queen’s most sparkling jewels for her 95th birthday, I’m going to link the posts here for you to go back and peruse! It’s a great way to get a sense of the way that the Queen’s jewelry collection has developed over the decades.