A photograph of His Majesty The King on the verge of adulthood in Balmoral, a series marking The Princess Royal’s 21st birthday, and the earliest surviving colour photographic print of a member of the Royal Family are among the highlights of a major exhibition opening at The King’s Gallery, Edinburgh this February. 

Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography will chart the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, revealing the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family. 

Bringing together more than 90 photographic prints, proofs and documents from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives, the exhibition – which follows a successful run in London – will also consider the artistic and technological advances in photography as it evolved into a recognised art form. 

Alessandro Nasini, curator of Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography, said: ‘The Royal Collection holds some of the most enduring photographs ever taken of the Royal Family, each one captured by the most celebrated portrait photographers of the past hundred years – from Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson to Annie Leibovitz and Rankin.

‘Alongside these beautiful vintage prints, many of which are which are being shown in Scotland for the first time, we are excited to share archival correspondence, photographers’ handwritten annotations and unreleased proofs that lift the curtain on the process of commissioning, sitting for, and selecting royal portraits. We hope visitors will enjoy going behind the scenes to discover how these unforgettable royal images were made.’ 

Photographs taken to mark milestone birthdays of members of the Royal Family are among the star works in the exhibition, including images from the famed 1971 series taken by Norman Parkinson to mark Princess Anne's 21st birthday. Another highlight will be a portrait of The King when Prince of Wales by Godfrey Argent, released to mark his 18th birthday in 1966.

All of the photographs in the exhibition are vintage prints – the original works produced by the photographer – and the earliest works date from the 1920s and 30s, the golden age of the society photographer. A highlight will be the earliest surviving photographic print of a member of the Royal Family to be produced in colour, taken by Madame Yevonde, a pioneer of colour photography. 

In the mid-20th century, no royal photographer had a greater impact on shaping the monarchy’s public image than Cecil Beaton. The exhibition will present some of Beaton’s most memorable photographs including Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s famed 1939 shoot in the Buckingham Palace Gardens and Beaton’s original Coronation portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Close relationships between royal sitters and photographers will unfold throughout the exhibition, seen most clearly through the lens of Lord Snowdon, born Antony Armstrong-Jones. One of the most sought-after photographers of the 1950s, Snowdon became a member of the family himself when he married Princess Margaret in 1960. His remarkably intimate portraits of the Princess, taken both before and during their marriage, hint at the depths of trust and collaboration between them.

The bold and colourful later photographs in the exhibition will demonstrate the extraordinary variety, power, and at times playfulness of royal portrait photography over the past four decades. These works range from Andy Warhol’s diamond-dust-sprinkled screenprint of Queen Elizabeth II to well-known photographs by David Bailey, Nick Knight, Annie Leibovitz and more. The exhibition concludes with the official Coronation portraits taken by Hugo Burnand in May 2023. 

Following a successful trial in 2024, The King’s Gallery will continue to offer £1 tickets to this exhibition for visitors receiving Universal Credit and other named benefits.