A series of unseen photographs of the Royal Family will go on display in a new exhibition at the King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.

Previously unseen photographs of the late Queen Elizabeth holding Prince Edward when he was just a few months’ old, will be displayed in a new exhibition at The King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace.

Other highlights include unreleased wartime images, the Queen Mother’s personal copy of her daughter’s Coronation portrait and the earliest surviving colour photographic print of a member of the Royal Family.

The new public display, which opens on Friday, charts the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day through more than 150 items from the Royal Collection and Royal Archives.

The photographs presented in the exhibition are vintage prints – the original works produced by the photographer – and most of which are on display for the first time.

Royal mothers and their babies

Other pictures capture more intimate family moments, including a never-before-seen image of four royal mothers – Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and The Duchess of Kent – holding their newborn babies.

It was taken by Princess Margaret’s photographer husband Lord Snowdon as a personal token of thanks for Sir John Peel, the royal obstetrician who delivered all four babies within two months in 1964. (Image: RCT)

A letter to Queen Elizabeth II

Accompanying the image was a handwritten letter from Princess Margaret to her sister, asking her ‘Darling Lilibet’ to sign a print ‘as a souvenir of an extraordinary two months of delivery’. (Image: RCT)

Prince Charles and Princess Anne

Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was married to Princess Margaret from 1960-1978, took a picture of a young Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1956. (Image: Antony Armstrong-Jones)

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation sitting

Visitors will also get to see proofs from Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation sitting, alongside a note from Martin Charteris, the Queen’s Assistant Private Secretary, recommending to Prince Philip which images should be sent as personal mementos to the Royal Family and Maids of Honour.

The photograph subsequently sent to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, signed by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Cecil Beaton, will also be on display. (Image: Cecil Beaton)

First colour photograph

Visitors will see the earliest surviving photographic print of a member of the Royal Family produced in colour.

It shows Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (sister-in-law to King George VI and Edward VIII) on her wedding day.

The image was taken in 1935 by Madame Yevonde, a pioneer of colour photography and champion of women photographers. (Image: National Portrait Gallery)

Princess Kate’s birthday picture

Visitors will also see Paolo Roversi’s memorable 40th-birthday portrait of The Princess of Wales released in 2022.

In the picture Kate’s dress and pose bear a striking visual resemblance to an 1864 portrait of Alexandra, Princess of Wales by Franz Xaver Winterhalter from the Royal Collection, which will hang nearby. (Image: Paolo Roversi)

Handwritten note from Martin Charteris

A note from Martin Charteris, the Queen’s Assistant Private Secretary, recommending to Prince Philip which images should be sent as personal mementos to the Royal Family and Maids of Honour. (Image: Royal Collection Trust)

Princess Elizabeth in 1942

A wartime picture of Princess Elizabeth will be on display, taken by Cecil Beaton. (Image: Cecil Beaton)

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 1939 (Image: Cecil Beaton)

Coronation pictures

An intimate picture of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with handwritten instructions. (Image: Antony Armstrong-Jones)

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on Coronation Day

This signed copy was sent to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Image: Cecil Beaton)

The Royal Family at Royal Lodge

Unreleased wartime images by Cecil Beaton – who photographed the Royal Family for 60 years – will be on display for the first time, demonstrating how King George VI and Queen Elizabeth used photography to project a sense of stability and hope for the nation.

A photograph of the royal couple inspecting bomb damage at Buckingham Palace in 1940 shows them smiling comfortingly at each other amidst the debris, while a 1943 portrait taken at Royal Lodge in Windsor shows them gathered around the King’s desk with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, conveying a reassuring sense of domesticity and calm. (Image: Cecil Beaton)

Princess Margaret

Photographs taken during sittings to mark royal birthdays through the decades will be among the highlights of the exhibition. This picture of Princess Margaret was taken in 1949. (Image: Cecil Beaton)

Andy Warhol

Modern pieces will also be on display, to showcase how colour and digital photography has revolutionised since the 1980s.

This includes Andy Warhol’s 1985 portrait of Her late Majesty, sprinkled with diamond dust to make it sparkle in the light. (Image: Andy Warhol)

A picture of Princess Margaret taken in 1967. (Image: Snowden)

Polly Borland’s Golden Jubilee portrait of the late Queen set against a glittering gold backdrop (Image: Polly Borland)

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in 1980. (Image: Norman Parkinson)

Queen Elizabeth in 1952

Visitors will be given a free multimedia guide, narrated by Dame Joanna Lumley, to enhance the experience.

It also features contributions from royal photographers Hugo Burnand, Rankin and John Swannell.

Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography is at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from 17 May to 6 October 2024.

It is the first exhibition to open at the newly renamed The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, previously known as The Queen’s Gallery.

Cecil Beaton’s charming 25th-birthday portrait of Princess Margaret, dressed in an evening gown with her dog Pippin in her lap (Image: Cecil Beaton)