American attempts to uncrown Queen
ITN is reporting that the Queen abruptly left a photoshoot at Buckingham Palace when commissioned American photographer Annie Leibovitz asked her to remove her “crown”.
This minor moment of exasperation is now a big story across the media after the BBC inexplicably released the footage to advertise its autumn schedules. How far the once trusted Beeb has fallen.
In the footage, the Queen walks into a room wearing a tiara — not a crown — and the very heavy Order of the Garter robes.
Leibovitz then demands, “I think it will look better without the crown because the garter robe is so…” Apparently, she intended to say “extraordinary”, but the astonished Queen icily replies, “Less dressy, what do you think this is?”.
TV cameras follow the Queen leaving the room with an official lifting the enormous train of her blue velvet cape off the floor. The Queen then tells her lady-in-waiting, “I’m not changing anything. I’ve had enough dressing like this thank you very much.”
Leibovitz is famous for taking bizarre pictures of her subjects. She once had Kate Winslet repeatedly dunked in a tank of water, and photographed Clint Eastwood after he had been tied up with ropes.
One hardly dares imagine what Her Majesty would have replied to either of those requests.
One of the four Liebovitz pictures to be released
A former press secretary to the Queen, Dickie Arbiter, claimed she was justified in her actions and said Liebovitz had “got it wrong”. He said, “It is stupid of her to say take the tiara off, it’s too dressy. If the Queen’s already got the garter robes on. It is dressy.”
Annie Liebovitz said “She entered the room at a surprisingly fast pace, as fast as the regalia would allow her. She muttered, ‘Why am I wearing these heavy robes in the middle of the day?’
“She doesn’t really want to get dressed up any more. She just couldn’t be bothered and I admire her for that. When you get to that age you have a right to have those kinds of feelings.”
Many elderly people claim they are no longer taken seriously, and get the impression they are being treated like children. When that person is the 81 year-old Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, it’s not so easy to patronise her.
Congratulation to Her Majesty for standing up for elderly rights.
[...] a trailer that she stormed out of a photo shoot with star American photographer Annie Liebovitz. (See previous post for full [...]
By Royal Anecdotes - Royal Secrets » BBC apologizes to Queen on July 12th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Fair play to her! She is not a performing seal and if Annie didn’t understand that these things are symbols not just clothes, they mean something and are not to be just adapted for a photograph, it wasn’t up to Her Majesty to enlighten her. She was dead right just to walk out.
From what i’ve read the Queen is normally very acommodating when it comes to photographs and in fact understands them very well, after all she must have sat for photographs hundreds, if not thousands of times in her long life so obviously whatever happened to provoke her must have been significant
By Eliza on July 12th, 2007 at 11:36 am
The Queen is right! You cant photograph a monarch without its crown! And the Queen wasnt “dressy”, it was formal clothes of a monarch.
Anyway, I visited an exibition in south of France last week, called the Rencontres d’Arles, and the Camera Press has kindly given some photographs of the Queen. It was quite impressive to see that this woman has been shooted by some great photographers who have made history of photography. No one realises it for the moment, but when she will die, we will see that she was a part of that history too. Im wondering why Leibovitz wanted to represent the Queen as if she was Dracula in her garden before the sunup. These photos are the worst.
By Lilyfromfrance on July 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Lily, that sounds like a great exhibition. And you’re right — but see my latest post. The BBC has apologized to the Queen because the shot showing her “storming out” was in fact of her coming in.
You couldn’t make it up.
By John on July 12th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I find it sophomoric and unprofessional that Leibovitz feels she has to resort to tricks and stunts to get the effects she wants in her photographs. Great photographers rely on their skills, not tricks and stunts. Furthermore, the Queen deserves to be treated with respect and deference at all times. Leibovitz’ behavior is boorish.
By Gigi on July 12th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I haven’t seen the footage, and it’s hard to judge what happened based on a printed accout. Tone of voice and body language are crucial elements in such an exchange. Leibovitz’s phrasing certainly sounds more like an artist’s thinking aloud than a “demand.” Arranging the subject in order to make the best picture is certainly part of a portrait photographer’s craft.
Cecil Beaton, to invoke a hallowed name in royal photography and one of Leibovitz’s role models, paid careful attention to both his subject’s appearance (including elements of dress) and setting. On at least one occasion (his admiral’s-cape photos of the queen), he made requests as to what the queen should wear, so Leibovitz’s thought was hardly unprecedented.
I hate to say it, but I honestly think HM comes across as a tad petulant, particularly if the comment about “dressing like this” came *before* Leibovitz’s request. And it’s a fairly elementary point of courtesy, which the queen overlooked, to allow people to finish their sentences before responding, particularly if the response is icy and snappish. Perhaps the old girl was having a bad day.
Editor that I am, I have to point out that “Photographer attempts to uncrown Queen” would have been a more accurate head. Starting with “American” suggests that Leibovitz’s is relevant to the story, a suggestion not at all supported by the article itself. If the tiara-removal request was inappropriate, would it have been any less inappropriate from a Briton or German or whatever?
By Aunt Pierre on July 12th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Aunt Pierre, we’re all treating this as a humorous story over here, at the expense of the BBC — which has a scarlet face at the moment.
A lot of the commentary is poorly written, on scant evidence, so comes across as a bit barmy. We now know the Queen was not rude, did not interrupt her, and was the soul of discretion.
It was the BBC that sought to make a mountain out of a bubble. The Palace is absolutely furious.
By John on July 12th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
It will be interesting to see if BBC fires anyone because of this gaffe. This article is certainly (I hope) not representative of BBC’s work or reputation. I don’t blame the Palace for being furious. As an American familiar with the work of Leibovitz and many other photographres of greater talent and fame, I find myself unimpressed by her work or her reputation.
By Gigi on July 12th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
I agree with John, it was humorous so there is no need to make a fuss about things like that. You know, kind of old stories that say the Americans don’t know anything about the royalty and how to treat a king and these old jokes about history between the UK and the US. I think that Leibovitz should have closed her mouth about the thing “less dressy”. If she wanted to change something, then just ask but don’t make comments. I also think that the BBC just wanted to create a fuss for nothing for the documentary A year with the Queen like C4 did with the last programme about Diana. I understand why the Queen was furious. Really, why have they done that? She is the only member of the RF that should be treated with deference. It showed the Queen like a capricious kid.
It’s a great gift when the palace ask you to take photographs of the Monarch. The Queen is an old 81 yo woman who was tired to wear uncomfortable clothes during hours and she probably was upset from being asked to remove her crown. Thats all.
By Lilyfromfrance on July 12th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Spot on, Lily. And we Brits will have a great laugh at it all. No wonder we rarely have revolutions.
By John on July 12th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
By Gigi on July 12th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Well, Gigi, there were four Beatles and I can just about count four revolutions in 2000 years.
By John on July 12th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
It’s really very easy to take a poke at H.M., but protocol makes it very difficult for her to defend herself.
It is one thing to ask Kate Winslet be repeatedly dunked in a tank of water, or Clint Eastwood to be photographed after he had been tied up with ropes. It is quite another to ask a ruling monarch to remove their crown for a formal portrait.
Leibovitz has made images taken of the Queen sans crown and they did not meet with critical acclaim.
The Queen seems to have been digitally placed before Buckingham Palace Lake in one such image.
In an edition of American Photo published in September February 2005 Ms. Leibovitz is on record as saying:
“I use tools to do my job and digital is just another tool, although a fascinating one. People who don’t get it just aren’t smart enough. When something new comes along it is overused, abused and misused until you figure out how to use it. That’s what happened with digital and it doesn’t interest me. Now, though, I shoot digitally for layout and it’s really valuable, but I think, at least I hope, that photography will always be chemical. Work that is manipulated looks a little boring to me and life is pretty strange anyway, don’t you think?â€
John Evans of the UK Web site Royal Anecdotes comments:
“Many elderly people claim they are no longer taken seriously, and get the impression they are being treated like children. When that person is the 81 year-old Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, it’s not so easy to patronise her.”
I have to agree. I am also delighted that the BBC have issued an apology for editing their clip inappropriately.
Stephen
By Stephen Bray on July 12th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
A good example of a British sense of humour is President Bush’s quip : “The trouble with the French is they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”
Now, some people thought he meant it, but I believe he has a true Brit dry wit.
By John on July 12th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Thank you, Stephen, much appreciated.
By John on July 12th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Hum.
By Lilyfromfrance on July 12th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Uh, John…knowing ‘ol Bushwacker, he probably really didn’t quite get the joke himself – especially since he usually IS the joke!
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