Queen Elizabeth II Obituary

For our Picture Editing I class, we were assigned a significant individual who is still living to create a mock obituary for them. We were then use the AP, Getty and Reuters wire services, as well as other online and print resources, to collect a wide edit of sixty images to create a print layout and online slideshow. The project helped me to hone my picture research skills and learn how to adapt an edit to different platforms.

The purpose of the print layout is to show the viewer an overview of the life of the Queen. Compared to the slideshow, this edit takes a broader look at her life’s work and relationships. I began my wide edit by searching by decade for the important moments in her life. I made a list of the important moments, beginning with her early years, to marriage/family, coronation, being queen, and her legacy. In the section about her early life, I focused on her relationship with her parents and sister. I then moved into her role being a mechanic in the war, which I found was important because of the active role she and her sister took in the effort. Her marriage to Prince Phillip and children was one of many milestones in her lifetime. Her coronation was one of the biggest events, so I chose to make those images larger and place most emphasis on those moments. The next logical step was to the duties she had as Queen. Including an image of her with the Pope was also important to remember that she is also head of the Church of England. I chose to expand into some negative aspects of her reign, like the image of the monarchy during decolonization and controversy with First Lady Jackie Kennedy. I also wanted to emphasize the fact that one of the longest reigning monarchs, so she has seen many changes to the monarchy and the commonwealth over time. Bringing in Meghan Markle as part of the legacy she left her was important to show how things have changed. I ended on showing her next to Prince Charles and Prince William, as they will be the next two generations of the monarchy once she’s gone.

The purpose of the slideshow edit is to show the Queen as a matriarchal figure in the house of Windsor. Many images of the Royal family are from press opportunities, so this edit was a chance to explore more intimate parts of her story by including behind the scenes pictures of being a mother while balancing responsibilities as Queen. I mainly focused on her relationships with her children growing up and how being Queen affected those relationships. It was important to select images that show how even though they live public lives and are symbols to the people in the kingdom, they are still human and like any other family. HRH had nannies to care for the kids, but many of the images I found were of her at events with the children or posed portraits in the various castles they have. I included moments like her coronation and images that show her leadership as Queen to get across this idea that she was not always present when they were growing up. I made sure to balance that with images that show how she was close to her children in the later stages of their lives, especially when they reached milestones like when Charles became Prince of Wales, marriages and when the grandchildren were born. Many of the images I found were of the Queen with Prince Charles or Princess Anne because Charles is next in line for the throne and Anne is her only daughter. They had special relationships, so I wanted to include images showing their closer connections. I decided to end on an image of the official wedding portrait of the Royal family at Prince Henry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. This is an important moment because having an American included in the family shows how much the monarchy has changed over the years and how it might continue to evolve in the future.

All photos shown in this project are provided by the Associated Press or Reuters for educational use only.