Queen Elizabeth II

by Dorothy Wilding, hand-coloured by Beatrice Johnson
hand-coloured bromide print, 15 April 1952
12 5/8 in. x 9 3/4 in. (322 mm x 249 mm)
Given by the photographer's sister, Susan Morton, 1976
Photographs Collection
NPG x34855

Sitterback to top

Queen Elizabeth II (1926-), Queen regnant. Sitter associated with 967 portraits.

Artistsback to top

Beatrice Johnson (1906-2000), Photographer, colourist and retoucher at Dorothy Wilding's Studio. Artist or producer associated with 23 portraits.
Dorothy Wilding (1893-1976), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 2177 portraits, Sitter in 30 portraits.

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1952back to top

Current affairs

King George VI is found dead in his bed in Sandringham; he had been suffering from lung cancer. His daughter Elizabeth, who was in Kenya at the time, became Queen, the only monarch not to know the precise moment of her accession as her father was alone when he died. Elizabeth was crowned the following year.

Art and science

Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot is performed for the first time in Paris. The play belongs to the Theatre of the Absurd style, which influenced playwrights such as Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard.
Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opens in London. It is still going.

International

Mau Mau rebels in Kenya rise up against the British colonial administration. The rebellion was sparked by the growing poverty of the native farmers under the rule of white settlers and called for Kenyan independence. The violence of the rebels, who often murdered settlers and loyalists, was met by the indiscriminate suppression by the British Military, who executed hundreds of suspects.

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