Lecture: Iconography of the Queens

Queen Elizabeth II
by Dorothy Wilding, hand-coloured by Beatrice Johnson
1952
NPG x125105

Alison will be discussing the iconography of Britain's Queens Regnant: Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, Mary II, Anne, Victoria and Elizabeth II. The talk will touch on images of the Empress Matilda, who was briefly Lady of the English in 1141, and Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for nine-days in 1553. What do these images tell us about the nature of sovereign queenship? Alison will compare portraits of Queen Elizabeth II with portraits of her predecessors, looking for similarities and disparities, and will talk about the changing role of portraiture in the modern world.