Queen Elizabeth II attends a government celebration in Winnipeg

Exclusive: See rare photos of Queen Elizabeth II from National Geographic's archives

From ancient ceremonies to American football games, these 20 rarely or never-before-published images from our photographers span the monarch's storied life.

Queen Elizabeth II attends a government celebration in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1970. Canada didn’t gain independence from Britain until 1982. At the height of the British Empire, it was estimated that one in four people was a British subject. During her reign, the British territories shrank from 70 to 16 countries.
Photograph by W.E. Garrett, Nat Geo Image Collection
ByErin Blakemore
September 08, 2022
10 min read

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor sat on an ancient throne, her eyes downcast. Moments before, the 27-year-old woman had been clad in white. Now she was Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth realms—shoulders wrapped in golden cloth, hands clasping jeweled scepters, and head heavy with a crown. Cries of “God save the Queen!” echoed throughout Westminster Abbey as silver trumpets blared.

At the June 1953 coronation, no one could have guessed Queen Elizabeth’s reign would last a record-breaking 70 years. But the significance of the elaborate ceremony was not lost on veteran photographer James Jarché. Using a Leica camera loaded with Kodachrome film, he documented every moment of the age-old ritual, then rushed the undeveloped images to the National Geographic Society’s Washington, D.C., headquarters via special air courier.

The results galvanized National Geographic editors, who dropped other coverage in their September 1953 issue to make room for the stunning color photos, alongside classic Nat Geo takes on everything from the bunting that filled a still war-scarred London to the British-bred silkworms responsible for the queen’s sumptuous regalia.

Letters poured in from around the world, begging for extra copies as keepsakes and gifts. It was “the greatest color story of a lifetime,” photo editor Kip Ross told Jarché.

And National Geographic was there to capture every step of her lifetime. Its world-class photographers documented the demure new queen, chronicled the official appearances of the self-possessed public figure, and offered rare glimpses of the private life Elizabeth guarded so carefully.

Fashions, borders, communication, public mores—all experienced seismic shifts during Elizabeth’s years as queen. Here is Elizabeth II as National Geographic saw her: gracious, determined, curious, confident, and long-lived.

Princess Elizabeth visits a museum with her family as a child
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the queen consort), Queen Mary (the queen mother), and Princess Elizabeth pose in 1937 before a model of the "Sovereign of the Seas" during the opening of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich in London.
Photograph by W. E. Meayers, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II is crowned queen by the archbishop
Queen Elizabeth II is crowned queen by the archbishop at the age of 25 in Westminster Abbey in London, on June 2, 1953.
Photograph by James Jarche, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II sits in a car on the way to an event with her husband
Queen Elizabeth II sits in a car with her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on their way to visit to Higham Ferrers, a small town outside Northampton, England, on July 9, 1965. 
Photograph by George F. Mobley, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II walks with Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa in Bahrain
Queen Elizabeth II walks with Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa on her visit to Bahrain in 1979. Hers was the first ever visit to the country by a female head of state, and was one stop on a six-country tour of the Arabian Peninsula.
Photograph by Steve Raymer, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II stands behind President Gerald Ford on a visit to the White House in 1976
President Gerald Ford speaks to a crowd with Queen Elizabeth II beside him at the White House in Washington, D.C. The president and first lady hosted a state dinner in honor of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on July 7, 1976. The visit by the queen was part of the celebration of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution.
Photograph by Joseph H. Bailey, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth addresses wigged members of the House of Lords
Queen Elizabeth II addresses wigged members of the House of Lords as she opens Parliament in 1960. Queen Elizabeth opened Parliament every year of her reign except for 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant, and 2022, when she had mobility problems.
Photograph by Robert Goodman, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive in Fiji by boat in 1953
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip Mountbatten, disembark from a wooden yacht in Suva, Fiji. They arrived in Fiji, then an English colony, on December 17, 1953, shortly after she became queen.
Photograph by Howell Walker, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II rides horseback in the Trooping the Colour parade in 1984, accompanied by her son Prince Charles on her right, and followed by her husband and others. All are dressed in uniforms of the Welsh Guards, decorated with royal medals. The men wear bearskin busbies.
Photograph by Jodi Cobb, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip, and others at Winston Churchill's funeral
Queen Elizabeth II stands at the church steps as the casket of former prime minister Winston Churchill leaves during his funeral, in 1965.
Photograph by Joe Scherschel, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II drives herself to Sunday church service
Queen Elizabeth II drives to a Sunday church service around 1979. Despite not having a driver's license, the queen enjoyed driving herself and continued this practice even after a health scare in November 2021. She learned how to drive and trained as a mechanic in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945 during World War II. She was the first female member of the British royal family to serve in the military.
Photograph by James L. Stanfield, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II looks at Prince Charles after his investiture ceremony in Wales
Queen Elizabeth II looks at Charles, the Prince of Wales, during his investiture ceremony in Gwynedd, Wales on July 1, 1969.
Photograph by James L. Stanfield, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles wave to the crowd in attendance of his investiture from a balcony.
Elizabeth II and Prince Charles wave to the crowd after the Prince of Wales's investiture in 1969. Though the ceremony formally installed Charles, it took place against a background of growing Welsh nationalism.
Photograph by Brian Shuel, Nat Geo Image Collection
Then Princess Elizabeth and husband Philip place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va.
Then Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery around 1951. She made another trip, as queen, in 1957.
Photograph by Willard Culver, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip leave Caernarvon Castle in Gwynedd, Wales, around 1963.
Photograph by Dean Conger, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth receives mementos at a college football game in America
Queen Elizabeth II receives mementos from various personalities in Byrd Stadium at a Maryland vs. North Carolina football game in College Park, Maryland, on October 19, 1957. The queen specifically requested to see an American football game during her visit to America.
Photograph by William W. Campbell III, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II talking with Prince Phillip and Prince Charles
Elizabeth II talks with Prince Phillip and Prince Charles in Windsor, England, around 1979.
Photograph by James L. Stanfield, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II awards ribbons to equestrian riders
Elizabeth II speaks with equestrians while presenting ribbons at the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Great Park in 1979.
Photograph by James L. Stanfield, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II and her family wave to a crowd
The royal family stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the close of the Trooping the Colour procession to honor the queen's official birthday. Queen Elizabeth II stands with her husband, Prince Philip, and her son Prince Charles. They are wearing uniforms of the Welsh Guard (red coats with blue sashes) and royal medals. Accompanying them are other members of the royal family, including the Queen Mother; Prince William of Wales, held by his father, Prince Charles; Princess Margaret, the queen's sister; Prince Andrew, standing in the doorway wearing a dark suit; Michael, Duchess of Kent, standing next to Diana, Princess of Wales; and three unidentified children.
Photograph by Jodi Cobb, Nat Geo Image Collection
Queen Elizabeth II leaving Windsor Castle
The Garter Ceremony at Windsor Palace installs new Knights of the Order in services in St. George's Chapel. The Garter services, discontinued in 1805, were revived by King George VI in 1948 and have become an annual event. 
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic

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