Queen Elizabeth to cover British Vogue for the first time

Queen Elizabeth II is to feature on the cover of British Vogue for the first time in a special issue celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. With its April issue, the publication has paid tribute to the monarch with an image from 1957, five years after she acceded to the throne.
In the image, she is wearing the George IV State Diadem, a gold, silver and diamond crown that was made in 1820 for King George IV. The regal headpiece is embossed with diamond bouquets of roses, thistles and shamrocks, the floral symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland.
The cover image was taken by her former brother-in-law, the late Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was also known as Lord Snowdon following his marriage to the late Princess Margaret.
In the special tribute, the magazine will look back on its own unique relationship with the royal during her historic 70 years on the throne.
In his editor’s letter, British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful wrote: ‘When I received my OBE for services to diversity in fashion several years ago, I thought carefully about what the decision to accept it would mean. ‘Ultimately, I saw an ancient institution that was setting about on a programme of change and if they
had noticed and wanted to recognise my work as something worth spotlighting, given the fact my endeavours were all about spotlighting under-represented people too, then I felt comfortable – keen, even – to engage.’
The April issue has a twin cover, with the same “Platinum Queen” cover line, which features The Queen’s Gambit actress, Anya Taylor-Joy. On that cover, Taylor-Joy is wearing a replica of the George IV State Diadem for “her own fantasy royal dress-up moment.”
The Queen first appeared in Vogue in 1927 at the age of one when she was pictured at her mother’s knee. The April issue of British Vogue is available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday March 29.