A personal tribute to our Platinum Queen
Royal photographer pays her respect at 70-year milestone
We met Julia McCarthy-Fox, originally from England, last year when she wrote a moving tribute to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh upon his death.
For 35 years Julia was a photographer, both amateur and professional at different times, following the royal family throughout the UK and sometimes further.
On the eve of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s celebration of 70 years as monarch, this Sunday, February 6, Julia offers her story and photographs of our remarkable Queen.
Who would have imagined, when the young Princess Elizabeth’s father, King George VI died, on February 6 1952, making her Queen at the age of 25, far from home on tour in South Africa, that in 70 years she would still be Queen?
And even with some countries opting for independence from the monarchy she remains Queen of some 15 realms, amongst them New Zealand, and although based in the UK Her Majesty is very much our Queen too and has visited our islands many times.
Queen Elizabeth II has passed many milestones during her long reign, and this weekend she will make history again as she becomes our first monarch to reach a platinum jubilee.
In September 2015 the Queen became our longest-reigning monarch, and since the death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol in 2016 she has been the longest-reigning living monarch in the world.
Currently sitting at the fourthlongest reign ever, by the end of June she will have moved to second position, with only France’s King Louis XIV having reigned for longer, at just over 72 years.
As the Queen herself has said, these anniversaries are not always a reason to celebrate and they come about merely for her still being here.
Celebrating the accession date is difficult as it is the anniversary of the death of her beloved father, which is why the date is normally spent privately, but on major anniversaries exceptions have been made in the past and the Queen has appeared in public, acknowledging the importance of such dates being recorded. It remains to be seen what will happen this year in the current climate.
For generations of Kiwis, the Queen is the only monarch they have ever known, and it is interesting that when people speak simply of The Queen, worldwide, it is generally Queen Elizabeth II to whom they are referring.
Having lived in the UK until 2018 I have been lucky enough to spend the second half of this remarkable reign following and photographing our Queen, and have witnessed firsthand some of the most memorable days and events.
I have photographed Her Majesty on major birthdays and anniversaries, including the 50th and 60th anniversaries of her accession to the throne, and her golden and diamond wedding anniversaries, the latter in Valletta in Malta, and on hundreds of other engagements too.
I have watched her both on and off duty and met her on many occasions.
While she is undoubtedly one of, if not the most photographed monarchs in history the Queen has managed to maintain an air of mystery, with very little widely known about her as a real person.
We know that she loves horses and until very recently was still riding regularly, and her devotion to her corgis has been well documented but little is written about her interest, for example, in racing pigeons and gun dogs, which remains largely unknown outside the relevant circles, and this is how it should be.
Once we know everything about someone they lose their mystery and magic, both of which are important features of a monarch, especially one of the Queen’s generation.
Watching someone closely for many years is interesting and gives a small insight into their personality.
I know, for instance, that the Queen has two very different smiles, the fixed one that she wears when she thinks that she should smile because she is the Queen, for example, as she is being driven through a crowd in her car, and the real one that lights up her eyes and makes them twinkle when she spots someone she knows in a crowd — I have been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that smile many times and it is very special.
When the Queen is off-duty at a horse show or racecourse she has a way of switching off from the crowds and acts as if they are simply not there, concentrating on the people she knows around her and enjoying what she is there for.
She is very animated in conversation about her horses, and will stand patiently watching an entire class at a horse show if she has an entry, swiftly collecting any rosettes that are won afterwards!
I have an amusing mental image of a huge wall somewhere inside Windsor Castle covered in rosettes like a young pony-mad girl’s bedroom wall.
At the races the Queen visits her horses prior to the start and watches them carefully in the parade ring, before chatting with her jockeys — she can then become very excited during the race, especially towards the end, and her face when her horse wins has the very broadest smile of delight.
Presenting polo trophies to players after a match is another job that is always carried out with twinkling eyes.
On walkabouts, Her Majesty has no idea who she will come face to face with, but is gracious to everyone, and happily accepts crumpled garden flowers in kitchen foil from tiny hands alongside the expensive official presentation bouquets, with thanks and a smile.
One day my son, aged about 6, insisted on giving her a very shiny conker that he had polished with his gloves, and this was taken by her very carefully and gently placed inside a bunch of flowers “for safekeeping”.
Another time my young godson solemnly handed over a very battered rose, which had been carried on a very long train journey to Scotland, from our garden, only for the head to fall to the floor almost in slow motion as the Queen took it from him, leaving her with just the stem in her hand.
Grinning at him, she looked from the stem to him, then at the flower on the ground, and proceeded to assure him that “it doesn’t matter. It’s the thought that counts”.
There are two comments that are most frequently heard in a crowd after the Queen has left — one is about how small she is, which always surprises people, the other is about her smile.
People’s perception, because of the photos that are most commonly used of her after events, which are all that they have to go by, is that she has a serious look, and so they are astonished to see her smile.
It is also the thing most commonly commented on when people look at my photos, because it is unexpected.
For 70 years Queen Elizabeth II has had a most extraordinary job, one that she continues to do, and one that she has carried out through years of enormous change in the world, and throughout that time the one thing that I believe has not changed has been her smile, the key to the real Queen.
For as long as she is still smiling we are very lucky to have her.
Happy Platinum Jubilee Your Majesty.