Portraits of the British royal family over the years

Updated

2025-04-25T14: 01: 12Z

The British royal family is known to use their portraits to mark special occasions.
Members of the royal family are often photographed but cannot take selfies with the public.
Here are 25 portraits of the royal family of the 1930s to now.

British royal family members surely have many talents, but if there is a skill they master, this poses for photos.

Wherever they go, professional photographers and enthusiastic fans with iPhones are clamor to take a photo of each of their movements (although the Royals are not allowed to take selfies with public members).

Official portraits of the Buckingham Palace to informal photocalles while they are on vacation, here are 25 portraits of the royal family in the 1930s so far.

1936: British Queen Elizabeth, center, poses with her two daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, in the Garden of the Royal Lodge in Windsor, England.

British Queen Elizabeth, center, with her two daughters, Princess Elizabeth (left) and Princess Margaret (right), in June 1936.

Getty images

1944: Princess Elizabeth celebrates her 18th birthday in the English countryside.

Queen Elizabeth 18th anniversary — Princess Elizabeth celebrated her 18th birthday in the English countryside in April 1944, surrounded by friends and family.

Photo AP

1947: Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, the day of their wedding.

Queen Elizabeth wedding — The official wedding photo of Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in November 1947.

Photo AP

1948: King George VI of Great Britain and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, during their 25th wedding anniversary.

King George Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Portrait — An official portrait of King George VI of Great Britain and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, on their wedding anniversary in silver in April 1948.

Photo AP

1950: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with their little daughter, Princess Anne and Prince Charles’ son took the baby’s baptism at the Buckingham Palace.

Royal Portrait Portrait Queen Elizabeth Kids — Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with their little daughter, Princess Anne, and her son, Prince Charles, in October 1950.

Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

1951: Princess Margaret for her 21st birthday.

1957: Queen Elizabeth II has a white satin evening dress with a group and a star of the Jarretière.

Queen Elizabeth Young — Queen Elizabeth II wore a white satin evening dress in March 1957.

Photo AP / Baron

1960: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones with members of their wedding party at the Buckingham Palace.

Marriage of Princess Margaret — The wedding group at the wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960.

Getty images

1973: Princess Anne and Mark Phillips on their wedding day at Buckingham Palace.

Royal family of marriage princess Anne — Anne’s marriage, Princess Royal, in Mark Phillips in 1973.

Images Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty

1980: Princess Anne with her husband and their son Peter in England.

1981: Prince Charles and Princess Diana pose with family members in the Throne hall of the Buckingham Palace on their wedding day.

Marriage of Princess Diana — Prince Charles and Diana, princess of Wales, were married in July 1981.

Photo AP

1984: A family portrait with Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Princess Diana Prince Charles Kids — The prince and princess of Wales, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, posed for a family portrait in October 1984 with their sons, Prince William, on the right and Prince Harry.

Photo AP

1997: Members of the British royal family sit for an official portrait in the white living room of the castle of Windsor after the confirmation of Prince William at the St. George chapel.

Portrait of the royal family — Members of the British royal family were seated for an official portrait in the white living room of Windsor castle after Prince William’s confirmation in 1997.

New / Reuters Pool

2002: Prince Charles with his sons Prince William and Prince Harry during their annual ski holidays in the Swiss Alps on March 29, 2002, in Klosters, Switzerland.

Portrait of the royal family Prince Harry Prince William Prince Charles — British prince Charles posed for a photograph with his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, during their annual ski holidays in the Swiss Alps in March 2002.

Julian Herbert / Getty images

2005: Prince Charles and his new wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, with their families.

Prince Charles Camilla Wedding Royal Family — The Prince of Wales and his bride, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, with their families in April 2005.

Hugo Burnand / Pool / Getty Images

2011: Prince William and Kate Middleton with their families on their wedding day.

Prince William Kate Middleton Wedding Portrait — Prince William and his bride, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, posed for an official photo, with their families, on their wedding day in April 2011.

Handout / Reuters

2013: The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge with their son, Prince George, and pets, Lupo and Tilly, at the family house of Middleton in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

Portrait of the royal family Kate Middleton William — William and Kate shortly after the birth of their son, Prince George, in 2013.

Michael Middleton / Getty Images

2015: The royal family attends a state banquet to honor the visit of the state of the president of China Xi Jinping.

Royal Family of England — Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince William and Kate in 2015.

WPA / Getty swimming pool images

2016: Prince William and Kate Middleton on vacation in the French Alps with their children, Princess Charlotte and Prince George.

Portrait ski trip of the royal family — Kate Middleton and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, with their children, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, had a short private ski in the French Alps in 2016.

ALP / Medipunch / AP

2017: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for their photos of official engagement in Frogmore House in Windsor.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Portrait of official engagement — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle posed for one of the two photos of official engagement in Frogmore House in December 2017.

Alexi Lubomirski via Getty Images

2018: The official wedding portrait of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Meghan Markle Prince Harry Official Portrait of Royal Wedding — Prince Harry’s official wedding portrait and Meghan Markle.

Alexi Lubomirski / Handout via Reuters

2019: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose with their newborn son, Archie, at the castle of Windsor.

British prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (R), and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose for a photo with their newborn baby, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in St George's Hall in Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London on May 8, 2019. — Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, posed for a photo with their newborn baby, Archie, in St George’s Hall.

Dominic Lipinski / AFP / Getty images

2021: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their second more casual pregnancy, after having officially retreated official royal tasks in March 2020.

Meghan Markle Prince Harry Pregnancy — The announcement of the Duke’s pregnancy and the Duchess of Sussex in 2021.

Misan Harriman; Copyright belonging to the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex © 2021

2023: King Charles is coronated like the new monarch carrying the dress of the succession and the crown of the imperial state.

King Charles' first official portrait as a monarch — King Charles III was photographed in the middle of the badge in the throne room of the Buckingham Palace in May 2023.

Hugo Burnand / Buckingham Palace via Getty Images

2024: Kate Middleton’s first photo after announcing her diagnosis of cancer shows the princess based on a tree at home.

Kate Middleton standing next to a Windsor tree. — The new portrait of Kate Middleton was taken in June 2024 at her home in Windsor.

Matt Porteous

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