Just when we thought yesterday's photo released by The Royal Mail to mark a new set of stamps for the Queen's birthday couldn't be topped, Buckingham Palace have treated us to some new stunning photos of Her Majesty and her young family.
To honour the Queen's 90th birthday today, the royals have released new pictures, taken by reknowned photographer Annie Leibovitz at Windsor Castle last month, showing the monarch with her young grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as a photo with her daughter Princess Anne and one with her much-loved corgis.
Image: Annie Leibovitz
In the stunning images, taken just after Easter in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor, the Queen is seen for the first time cuddling the youngest of her large family, 11-month-old Princess Charlotte. And Prince George fans will be pleased to see that the two year old is close by, looking adoringly into the camera.
The photos show the youngest members of the Queen's family, including two grandchildren - James, Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor - and five great-grandchildren - Mia Tindall, Princess Charlotte, Savannah Phillips, Prince George and Isla Phillips.
Image: Annie Leibovitz
From left to right: James, Viscount Severn, Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, Mia Tindall, The Queen, Princess Charlotte, Savannah Phillips, Prince George and Isla Phillips
Little Mia Tindall, daughter of England rugby star Mike Tindall and the Queen's eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips, can be seen clutching her great-grandmother's £1,000 Launer handbag - a moment which Mail Online report was totally unscripted.
'The moment with Mia was completely spontaneous, it was not staged at all. She just picked up her great-granny’s handbag and that was it,' a source who was present for the photo said.
The day the pictures were taken was a 'happy, chaotic, warm afternoon' with all the children's parents in the room, trying to catch their child's eye for the stunning photo.
'Taking pictures of children is like herding cats but for that split second, it just worked. Annie [Leibovitz] has children of her own and knows her stuff.'
Image: Annie Leibovitz
Another picture in the collection shows the Queen with her 65-year-old daughter Princess Anne, in a rarely seen intimate setting. The photo is a unique one, as usually the Queen is pictured with her sons and grandsons, so the image showing the bond between the mother and daughter is a special one.
Image: Annie Leibovitz
The newly released photos also include a snap of Her Majesty with her other loves - her pet corgis. The Queen can be seen smiling on the steps of Windsor Castle, looking happy and relaxed in the company of her four-legged friends.
The photo shows the Queen's corgis Willow and Holly, and two dorgis - corgi-dachshund crosses - Candy and Vulcan.
The nation will celebrate the monarch's actual 90th birthday today, the 21st April, as well as her unofficial birthday on 11th June.
The Prince of Wales has recorded a special BBC radio broadcast for today, in which he'll read an edited passage from William Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Gun salutes will also take place around the UK at noon, while the prime minister will lead tributes to Britain's longest-serving monarch in the Commons.
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