Abstract
The relationship between photographer Cecil Beaton (1904–80) and the British royal family has been described as “the greatest alliance ever forged between crown and camera” (Strong 1988a: 20). This article considers Beaton's fascination with monarchy and celebrity and his role in shaping the iconography of the House of Windsor, with a particular focus on early portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Consort (1900–2002) and her daughter Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926). What devices did Beaton employ to create portraits with particular messages, and how did the press and public react to the images, widely disseminated during and after the Second World War?This text draws on Beaton's extensive volumes of press cuttings, housed in the V&A Archive, and his personal letters and diaries in St John's College Library, Cambridge University. I am indebted to Sir Roy Strong for his advice and his extensive research into this subject in the late 1980s.
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