An unseen portrait of the Queen smiling with joy has been released by Buckingham Palace on the eve of her funeral. The picture, taken in May ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, shows the monarch beaming brightly at the camera at Windsor Castle. In a televised tribute to her mother-in-law on Sunday night, the Queen Consort recalled the Queen’s “beautiful blue eyes” and said: “I will always remember her smile.” The Queen, who is dressed in a dark blue dress with her hair in neat curls, is wearing her favorite three-strand pearl necklace, pearl earrings and her turquoise and diamond brooches, which were an 18th birthday present from her father George VI in 1944. . The two art deco pieces, worn one under the other, were crafted by Boucheron from baguette, oval and round diamonds and turquoise.
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The Queen wore the pins when she addressed the nation for the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and for her televised Diamond Jubilee address in 2012. The picture was taken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie, who also took the jubilee portrait of the Queen which was released to mark the start of national celebrations of her landmark 70-year reign. The Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee with the nation three months before she died.
