HRH Elizabeth II, Tea Towel

Every Royal appears on a tea towel. They get made for Birthdays, jubilees and any or all milestones in a Royal's life as official memorabilia. Rankin photographed HRH Queen Elizabeth II for her Golden Jubilee in 2002, creating a picture which everyone knows but wasn't used by the Palace at the time. It might not appear on any official memorabilia, but this portrait has graced the cover of many magazines and been shown in contemporary photography exhibitions worldwide. So we've decided to make our own official Rankin tea towel that celebrates that milestone. "Being Scottish I wasn't an obvious first choice to photograph The Queen. I didn't grow up with any reverence for the Royals. But I photographed HRH Queen Elizabeth II for her Golden Jubilee in 2002. I had just five minutes total to take the image in her throne room. I watched her walk down this long corridor at Buckingham Palace with a footman who must have been at least 6ft. She's tiny, and she was looking up at him, smiling and chatting, and I thought, "She's got a sense of humour - I've got to capture that side of her". I'm taking her photo and suddenly a cord fell out of my camera and that simple moment helped us connect. I saw her smile and I knew I could make her laugh and I went with it. I started saying 'Ma'am', like 'jam': "Ma'am, you have to smile, please" - over and over again. Eventually she cracked and laughed. I got three frames, a half smile, full smile and half smile again. The iconic image everyone knows though - with the flag backdrop - that wasn't selected for use at the time. I did hear from The Queen though as she wrote me a letter having seen the shot, saying, 'I love the stitching on the flag'. " - RANKIN