The portrait of the monarch sitting
in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace
had "all the personality of
a marble bust of George Washington
I wonder if there isn't a line of people
having to wait to have their picture
taken in the same chair, the same costume,
perhaps one of those little cut-outs
you stick your head through"
Queen Elizabeth II blends formality
and royal bling in a new portrait by American
celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. close-up
I should think there are far more important things
to worry about than a self-important anachronism
such as the circus sideshow that is British royalty
I mean, who wants to see an old 'queen'
tarted out in all her best bling.
Really, her job is to be head of this giant
wax museum known as England.
Surely in 2007 even the idea of a royal family is an embarrassing anachronism. Hereditary privilege? And worse, a constitutional function? Based on genes? What are we thinking about? Are we mad?An American photographer famed for showing celebrities naked or bathing in asses' milk chose a more traditional pose for Britain's Queen Elizabeth, but Annie Leibovitz's new work sharply divided critics on Wednesday.
There we are, preaching parliamentary democracy to the poor and ignorant of the world, (3 billion on a dollar a day or less) while we pamper our royals to the point of obscenity.
But of course to disestablish the monarchy would mean taking a hard look at all our upper classes and they wouldn’t like that so they will never let us.
John Lennon appeared naked and Clint Eastwood was bound with ropes, but Leibovitz opted to have her subject in full evening dress for an official portrait marking the queen's visit to the United States.
Washington Post culture critic Henry Allen was not amused, complaining that the portrait of the monarch sitting in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace had "all the personality of a marble bust of George Washington."
"I wonder if there isn't a line of people having to wait to have their picture taken in the same chair, the same costume, perhaps one of those little cut-outs you stick your head through," he told BBC Radio.
But British critic William Feaver was relieved that Leibovitz, who famously photographed Hollywood actresses Whoopi Goldberg in a bath of milk and Demi Moore naked and heavily pregnant, had opted for tradition.
"I think on these occasions tradition is good. You do not want to see Her Majesty breakdancing or bathing in a vat of asses' milk," Feaver told BBC radio.
Also obvious is the influence of Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning performance in the film "The Queen" which portrayed the royal family struggling to cope with a wave of public grief after Princess Diana's death in 1997.
Feaver called it "a post-Oscar type production. It is the stand-in for Dame Helen Mirren in her own location being rather commanding but not really at ease with this army of American photographers glamming her up for Vanity Fair."
"Queen's Mirren Image," was the verdict of The Daily Mirror tabloid.
Critics said there was also a striking resemblance in the portrait with the monarch's mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who was famously captured by photographer Cecil Beaton in traditional poses.
Leibovitz agreed. "I like tradition. Cecil Beaton's pictures -- they're very important to me," she was quoted as saying after her session with the queen, who leaves on Thursday for her first official visit to the United States for 16 years.
Evening Standard royal correspondent Robert Jobson felt it was the ideal regal pose.
"It is perfect for the American market. It is almost like a Victorian pose, very traditional," he told Reuters.
"Many believe this will be her last state visit to America. They have given her a very grand feel." Paul Majendie @ TIL