Unseen childhood portraits of the Queen to go on display next year

LONDON - Previously unseen childhood portraits of the Queen and the late Princess Margaret from the late Queen Elizabeth’s personal collection are to go on public display for the first time next year.

The photographs, which include some of the most informal studio portraits ever taken of the princesses with their parents, are among more than 100 prints to be displayed at The Queen’s Gallery in Edinburgh, reports the Telegraph.

The shots, dating from 1926 to 1956, showcase the work of royal photographer Marcus Adams.

One of the earliest photographs is of the three-year-old Princess Elizabeth cuddling her father, the then Duke of York, in 1929.

Three years later, the future Queen posed with her younger sister shortly before Princess Margaret’s second birthday, and in 1940 the princesses, aged 14 and nine, were pictured with their mother.

Adams, who died in 1959, set up a Children’s Studio in London in 1920 and quickly became one of the country’s most renowned photographers of children.

Many of his pictures were released as official portraits, appearing in the press and on calendars, biscuit tins and jigsaws, but others were kept by Queen Elizabeth and George VI for their private family album.

The exhibition, which opens on February 25 and runs until June, also includes childhood portraits of the Prince of Wales and Princess Royal. (ANI)