Striking a pose deemed wholly inappropriate by royal advisers, The Queen has finally been given the opportunity to fulfil her 'secret wish' to be photographed in a way no one has seen her before.
Details of the portrait have been released in a new book by Angela Kelly, Her Majesty's Personal Adviser and Curator, entitled The Other Side of the Coin: the Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.
The Queen wished to be depicted in a more casual state and opted to place her hands in her pockets, and Ms Kelly helped her make that dream a reality.
The photographer for the shoot, Barry Jeffrey, tried to explain the plans for the day, but the Queen cut his description short and said, ‘No Barry, this is how we are going to do it. Just keep the camera rolling.'
Ms Kelly writes: ‘Her Majesty took her position in front of the lens and started striking a series of poses, slipping her hands in and out of her pockets and placing them on to her hips, mimicking the stance of a professional model. I stood in disbelief, the Queen was a natural.'
The portrait was excluded from Ms Kelly's work, a decision made by the Royal Collection, but it has been published by Hello! magazine, along with extracts of the book.
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The book shares details of The Queen's 'modest' living quarters at Buckingham Palace, with space for very little furniture, 'just the odd wardrobe or chest of drawers'.
Her Majesty's great sense of humour is also highlighted when she recounts a prank Ms Kelly played on The Queen when they were in Australia in 2006.
A cuddly toy kookaburra was placed on The Queen's balcony and Ms Kelly pretended it was a real bird who had died. When The Queen realised her mistake she joked that Ms Kelly was fired.
Her jovial nature was once again recounted when Ms Kelly gave details of her plans to be included in the London 2012 Olympic Games' opening ceremony.
Film director Danny Boyle wanted The Queen to be greeted by Bond, played by Daniel Craig, and seemingly escorted to a helicopter.
Her Majesty didn't just agree to being involved in proceedings, but also to take on a speaking part.
'Without hesitation, Her Majesty replied: 'Of course I must say something. After all, he is coming to rescue me,' Ms Kelly recounts. '[The] Queen's only stipulation was that she could deliver that iconic line: "Good evening, Mr Bond".'
She added that Boyle 'almost fell off his chair' when he heard.
Credit: Chris Jackson / Getty Images
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