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THE LONGEST REIGN
from the pages of The Illustrated London News
by the Editor
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On 9th September 2015, Her Majesty The Queen, our Colonel in Chief, became the longest-reigning monarch in British history, breaking the record held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. This is a special moment for Britain and the Commonwealth and, also, of course, the Guards, whose close relationship with The Queen goes back much further than 1952 when Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed Sovereign following the death of her father, King George VI.
One very significant moment came ten years earlier, on 21st April 1942, Princess Elizabeth’s 16th birthday, when she undertook her first public engagement by inspecting the Grenadier Guards as their new Colonel. This delightful picture by Cecil Beaton (above) appeared on the front cover of The Tatler and Bystander on 30th December 1942. To mark the occasion, the Regiment presented Princess Elizabeth with a blue enamel and diamond regimental brooch just before a parade of detachments from all eight Battalions at Windsor. In addressing all ranks that day, the Princess spoke of her pride in the Regiment that she had already learnt to love. It was indeed a special occasion, marking the beginning of a long association with the Guards. Not only is Her Majesty The Queen the longest serving sovereign, she is also the longest serving Royal Colonel.
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On Thursday 5th June 1952, Her Majesty The Queen took her first salute as Sovereign and Colonel-in-Chief of the Guards Regiments at the Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade, and The Illustrated London News carried this photograph (left) on the front of the following week’s edition. The Queen’s Colour belonged to the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards and The Queen rode the police horse Winston. The following day The Times reported the ‘high symbolical significance’ of the event and the ‘regal grace’ with which The Queen rode on parade. ‘No change in pageantry’ reported the Special Correspondent, while commenting on the reduced number of Guards on parade. For the first time since the war, and ‘as an indication of the unusual number of battalions of the brigade now on service overseas [there were] only five guards in line instead of the usual eight’.
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On 28th April 1953, five weeks before the Coronation, Her Majesty The Queen, as Colonel-in-Chief of The Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards, was in Home Park, Windsor for the Presentation of New Standards to the Household Cavalry. In the photograph (right), the young sovereign glances over her shoulder while flanked on either side by the two Colonels, Major General Sir Richard Howard-Vyse, Royal Horse Guards, and The Queen’s great-uncle, Major General The Earl of Athlone, The Life Guards.
The Coronation took place on 2nd June 1953, and the following week, on 11th June, The Queen took the salute at the Trooping the Colour with, on this occasion, the new Queen’s Colour of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards being trooped. The Duke of Edinburgh was there for the first time, dressed in the uniform of a Field Marshal. In the photograph below, The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, is taking the salute in heavy rain as the Guards march past Buckingham Palace after the parade.
These four photographs, together with the colour photographs on the front and back cover of this edition of The Guards Magazine, appear by kind permission of The Illustrated London News. To mark the occasion of Her Majesty The Queen becoming our longest reigning monarch, Illustrated London News Ltd has published a beautiful, limited edition two book set which chronicles two very special reigns: the reigns of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Further details of the book and the special offer to readers of The Guards Magazine may be found here and at www.recordreign.com.
In forthcoming editions of The Guards Magazine, we will also be covering some of the stories and images of the Longest Reign, from our own extensive archives.
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