THE CROWN IN FOCUS

This rich book mixes the history of photography with the history of our most photographed family. As Professor Sir David Cannadine says in the foreword: “The advent of photography, as a new art form and and as a new technology, also provided unprecedented opportunities for monarchies to connect with their peoples.” Generation upon generation have embraced the possibilities, starting with Queen Victoria who was such a fan of this new technology that a darkroom was installed at Windsor Castle.

Author Claudia Acott Williams, a Collections Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, takes us through the story of the Royals and photography, alongside a selection of Royal portraits which range from the formal posed images taken by the most prestigious photographers of the day, such as Cecil Beaton, Norman Parkinson and Annie Liebowitz to the informal pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge whose images of George, Charlotte and Louis have charmed many. While the posed portraits are probably the ones we are more familiar with, it is the more candid, everyday images that are the more interesting.

The power that photographs can give is explored, too. At the outbreak of World War II and for the first time, the images showed the family off duty. A shoot mid war by Cecil Beaton was released to give a much-needed morale boost.

Informality and accessibility was a style that has continued from the 1960s onwards, making the Royal family more relatable, though they are still commissioning a selection of the most current photographers. Merrell, £29.95; ISBN: 978-1-85894686-3