by The Laird o’Thistle
March 18 2011
The Princess Royal unveiling a portrait of Her Majesty The Queen, by Shaun Murawski, at the Scottish Parliament; Credit – By Scottish Parliament – https://www.flickr.com/photos/scotparl/15242838778/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106897118
This last week saw the unveiling by the Princess Royal of the new photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth in the public hall of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. It is the first official portrait of the Queen to grace the building. The portrait was done by a young Glasgow photographer, twenty-four-year-old Shaun Murawski, a contemporary (age-wise) of the Queen’s grandchildren.
The image was taken in the Throne Room at Holyroodhouse, the historic Scottish palace just across the way from the parliament building. It shows the Queen wearing a long white gown, pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and a brooch that belonged to her grandmother, Queen Mary. No particular symbols, either royal or Scottish, are included. Her Majesty stands simply gazing out a window, illumined by natural light, with a pleasant smile on her face. Mr. Murawski commented that he wanted to “try and capture a moment in her company” and to show her “as a human being.” It seems that he succeeded admirably.
Over the decades of her reign the Queen, following the example of her mother, has been somewhat adventurous in the ways she has allowed herself to be portrayed. From the dramatic portrait by Pietro Annigoni in 1956 to the holographic image done by Chris Levine and Rob Munday in 2004. Her Majesty has not shied away from depictions of herself in non-traditional settings and artistic modalities. (Perhaps the least successful – though dramatic — effort was Lucian Freud’s powerful but ugly 2001 work.
Murawski’s current effort seems “just right” to me, in several ways. The relative simplicity of the Queen’s dress (elegantly formal, but simple) is set off by the natural lighting against the rather dark and solemn setting of Holyroodhouse. The vista through various doorways down the way, to another window at the end, is evocative but not distracting. The portrait lets the Queen herself truly shine in her own personal majesty. And at one and the same time the image fits the more egalitarian Scottish ethos, often rather boldly (and not always politely) asserted by the members of the Scottish Parliament. She appears as much a kindly Scottish granny as she does a Sovereign… the kind of woman who actually does brew her own afternoon cup of tea, and also pours it for her guests. (One of my fondest dreams – which will never happen – is just to have a quiet cuppa with the Queen, and a nice chat. Preferably at Balmoral, or maybe Windsor.)
In the years since her mother’s passing the Queen has quietly, but notably, shifted to showing up more informally. There are more dinners without tiaras or orders. Occasional appearances without a hat. And, two or three times now H.M. has even appeared – dare I say it! – in (the American term) pantsuits! It actually seems quite right for the great-great-granddaughter of Victoria. At her Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the old Queen Empress eschewed personal splendor in favor of a bonnet and parasol as she drove through the streets of London. (It’s even in a very early film.) As this Queen approaches her own Diamond Jubilee she, too, is dealing with the rigors of age – having just been told she needs to give up riding – but she can also increasingly claim the privilege of years to do things her way, if she will.
One wonders what the monarch made of young Mr. Muwarski, with his flamboyant hair and stretched-out earlobes. One would guess that Zara Phillips long since paved the way for Her Majesty to be unfazed. And he seems to have been clearly impressed by the encounter.
What we are seeing now will not be seen again in our lifetimes, and possibly never. While I hope not, the reign of this Elizabeth may well be the last “great” reign in European history. And, quite sensibly, Shaun Murawski has just tried to catch a “moment” and a glimpse of the very “human” person who has so steadfastly carried on.
Ken Cuthbertson