THE QUEEN smiles cheekily in a previously unseen portrait that's been unveiled for her milestone Platinum Jubilee.
In the stunning new image taken 19 years ago, Her Majesty – photographed by Rob Munday – is seen smiling wryly to the camera.
The photograph, entitled Platinum Queen: Felicity, went unnoticed inMunday’s Royal archives until he rediscovered it last summer.
It shows the Queen reacting to a mischievous aside from her confidante and senior dresser Angela Kelly as the pair prepared for the shoot at Buckingham Palace.
Mr Munday said: "The Queen’s daily life is so full of responsibility and duty that it was wonderful to see this fleeting moment of relaxation and pleasure.
"It is an uplifting portrait, so different from many of the more sombre portraits commissioned in recent years and a befitting celebration for her Platinum Jubilee."
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- Joseph Gamp
Charles tries his hand at American Football during charity visit
The Prince of Wales tried his hand at American football when he visited a charity which aims to end youth violence by supporting the development of teenagers across the capital.
Charles gave his best impression of American quarterback Tom Brady and threw a football after he was coached by a volunteer from the Bigkid Foundation, which has ambitious plans for its home in Brixton, south London.
The organisation runs a number of initiatives, from its American Flag Football programme that uses sport to create a positive sense of self-worth, to the Breaking Barriers Leadership programme engaging with pupils at risk of exclusion.
Jonathan Mbanefo, 18, a volunteer coach with the charity, watched his new pupil Charles throw the football twice and said: “He did really well, I think he liked it. He got the hang of it really quickly – some people don’t get it but he did.”
Bigkid was founded by its chief executive Shaninga Marasha and owes its origins to a mentoring project he started in 2000, when a sixth form student, to help youngsters who appeared destined to be expelled from school.
He developed the idea with a group of friends while studying at university and they initially used music, but it developed into a leadership programme with other initiatives.
Credit: AFP - Joseph Gamp
Desmond’s actor expresses joy as he picks up CBE
Actor and musician Ram John Holder, 88, also collected his CBE at the ceremony today.
The 88-year-old, who is best known for playing Porkpie in the TV series Desmond’s, said: “It is just beyond one’s dreams of what one can achieve – professionally I’m talking about – and of course the award, the accolade.
“I couldn’t have pictured it better.”
The actor later added: “I’m an old person now but it would be fantastic to dig up my parents’ grave and say: ‘Mummy and Daddy, look what’s happened to your boy.’
“It’s a lifetime achievement. It means a sort of cap – not an end because I still have a few more years and work to do – but it has meant total fulfilment for the work that we have done and the recognition and I’m very, very happy.”
- Joseph Gamp
Ruth Wilson says she will wear her MBE ‘every time she goes out’
Ruth Wilson has joked that she will wear her MBE “every time I go out” as she collected the award at Buckingham Palace.
The actress, who has won two Olivier Awards as well as a Golden Globe for her performance in the TV series The Affair, was made an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to drama.
She joined others including actor and musician Ram John Holder and Olympic modern pentathlon gold medallist Kate French to collect their awards from the Princess Royal at the Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Wilson said the day had been “amazing”, adding that the award is a “huge honour” and a “real privilege”.
Asked where she would put her MBE, she joked: “On my lapel – I’m going to wear it for the next .. every time I go out.
“No I don’t know, I’ll have to frame it or something. Or maybe round my neck.”
On what the recognition meant to her personally, Wilson said: “It’s amazing – I’ve seen for years people getting these awards for various things, for dedicating their life to their jobs and what they do.
“It’s just a real privilege to be awarded it and be amongst all these other people I’ve seen in the room today.
“It’s just really lovely seeing people coming from all over the country and the services they have done to the community or in their chosen field.”
Asked about her conversation with the Princess Royal, Wilson said Anne talked about how they would put on plays in the palace as children.
The actress said: “She asked whether I had done acting when I was younger and then I asked her whether she had done acting when she was younger.”
“She said that she had, and I asked if they put on plays in the palace and she said they did – just in that room actually,” Wilson said, indicating the room where the awards had been handed out.
She went on to say the TV show Mrs Wilson, in which she played her real-life grandmother who discovers that her late husband had another family, was her career highlight.
Wilson said: “It was in honour of my family and it was for them and it was hard and it was a huge amount of pressure.
“I could see how I was giving something back to my family and even just the conversations we were having as a family – it was really important and it opened up conversations and discussions and I think that it’s the thing that I feel most proud of.”
- Joseph Gamp
Primary school kids to receive free book to mark Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (3/3)
The Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration, which can also be bought privately from June 23, will be delivered in September to schools in Scotland and Wales who have opted-in to receive copies.
The book is also part of the National Literacy Trust’s Platinum Jubilee Royal Reading Challenge.
A concert, street parties and an extra bank holiday for the Jubilee weekend itself from June 2 to 5 are among a series of events which are being held to help celebrate the landmark royal occasion.
- Joseph Gamp
Primary school kids to receive free book to mark Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (2/3)
The illustrated reference book is being made available from mid-May and children can personalise their own copies.
A page in the book reads: “During [the Queen’s] reign, the world has changed in so many ways… (this book) will help you understand the amazing life and times of our Queen and the magic of the unique, unshakable bond she shares with the people she serves.”
It is also hoped the book will help children understand how the four nations came together as one United Kingdom, including details such as Owain Glyndwr’s rebellion against the English in 1400 to take the title of ‘Prince of Wales’.
Mr Zahawi said: “Queen Elizabeth II is the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee and Her Majesty’s dignity, commitment and grace continues to inspire people all over the world.
“Millions of children will soon receive their own commemorative Jubilee book, celebrating and showcasing the Queen’s incredible living legacy.
“I hope all our pupils are as excited as I am to read about Her Majesty’s amazing life and the people and events that have shaped history during the last 70 years.”
- Joseph Gamp
Primary school kids to receive free book to mark Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (1/2)
Primary schoolchildren are to be given a book as a keepsake to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Famous quotes from the Queen, along with details about the lives of significant Commonwealth figures such as former South African President Nelson Mandela, are to feature in the book.
It is to be handed out to children in state-funded primary schools across the United Kingdom, the Department of Education said.
Facts on the coronation ceremony, information about notable kings and queens and a timeline of Queen Elizabeth’s life will feature in a book aimed at “celebrating and showcasing the Queen’s incredible living legacy”, according to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi.
Created with the help of royal experts and historians, The Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration will allow children to trace the highlights of the royal reign through a story featuring a young girl called Isabella.
She is told all about the Queen and this year’s Jubilee during a visit to her Great Granny Joyce’s house.
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