Yet another temperamental queen

[Undeniably Bway]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 8:23am

"Annie Leibovitz received an icy stare and a stern response when she asked Queen Elizabeth II to remove her crown for an official portrait."
Crowning glory

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 8:33am

Well hell, I wouldn't do it either. You can't tell a Queen to take off her crown. That's like telling George W. Bush to take off his American flag pin.

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:04am

Annie Leibovitz is my favourite photographer. When this edition of Vanity Fair was issued, I bought it for the snaps, only to be disappointed at what I thought were probably the worst Leibovitz photographs I'd ever seen. I now know why, the Queen was having the orf day, not Leibovitz...

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:09am

"The photographer, famous for her work for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines, is known for making unusual requests of her subjects. She had Kate Winslet repeatedly dunked in a tank of water and snapped Clint Eastwood after he had been tied up with ropes.

Other images include a naked John Lennon cuddling a clothed Yoko Ono and Demi Moore, naked and heavily pregnant."

This ain't Kate or Clint or any of the others. This is the Queen of England. Her people should never have booked her with Leibovitz in the first place.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:21am

I am in total agreement with Mamie. And I am unanimous in that!

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:29am

I'm sure her people knew exactly what they were doing, and what to expect when they brought Leibovitz in.

Had The Queen been in any mood to cooperate that day, I'm sure the ensuing photographs would have been nothing less than amazing.

Or I could be wrong: - )

[Elphaba]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:37am

it is plain stupidity to think that if you ask a monarch to take off their crown, that they will do it........just plain stupidity

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:38am

I'm sorry - but her people may have known but if they did, they were wrong and she should take it up with them. I don't care how popular Liebovitz is, she was wrong to ask the Queen to remove her crown.

Reading the full article makes me think that the Queen's people booked this and then briefed her on it shortly before the actual shoot. Queen Elizabeth may have had her mind set that an unusual request from the photog was likely and so she reacted before the full request was vocalized. Still, you don't ask the Queen to remove her crown - no matter who you are.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 10:53am

Exactly Mamie and Elphaba! People always say it's stupid of me to say this, but this isn't just "any other celebrity". She's a Queen. She's held a regal attitude since she was born all those years ago. You can't expect her to take off her crown. It's tradition, she's a representative of her country. She's a Queen, not I dunno, Lindsay Lohan or Nicole Kidman.

"Had The Queen been in any mood to cooperate that day, I'm sure the ensuing photographs would have been nothing less than amazing."
Maybe, but she's the Queen. She doesn't need to be in the mood to cooperate. She's been doing her job for a long time, if some photographer tells her to take off her crown, she's not gonna do it. And I like Leibovitz photos, and yeah, she's not just "some photographer", but to the Queen she is.



Mamie your avatar is too pretty.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 11:05am

I thought this was going to be about jaily.....


And back to the topic, I really don't understand the audacity of people in today's world. jeesh.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 11:20am

What about being truly regal and explaining that she would not take off the crown, and continue with the photo shoot, instead of being a brat and storming out of the room?

[cheezedoodle]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 11:41am

It looks like this was a mis-representation -

"The British Broadcasting Corp. apologized to Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday for saying she had walked out of portrait sitting with photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The BBC said a promotional trailer released Wednesday from the upcoming documentary "A Year With the Queen" showed the monarch arriving, not departing.

That scene showed the queen walking down a Buckingham Palace corridor, wearing a crown and her Order of the Garter robes, and telling her lady-in-waiting: "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this, thank you very much."

"In this trailer, there is a sequence that implies that the queen left a sitting prematurely," the BBC said.

"This was not the case and the actual sequence of events was misrepresented. The BBC would like to apologize to both the queen and Annie Leibovitz for any upset this may have caused."

The promotional video showed the queen balking at the photographer's request that she remove her crown.

Leibovitz told the queen, "I think it will look better without the crown because the garter robe is so ...," but the monarch cut her off with an icy stare.

"Less dressy! What do you think this is?" the monarch said, gesturing to her attire.


Sorry Queenie - it's in the editing

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 11:55am

I'm glad the Queen put Annie Liebovitz in her place.

And, DD, I've never heard anyone call the Queen a brat before!! That cracked me up.

Updated On: 7/12/07 at 11:55 AM

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 12:27pm

Thanks for that cheezedoodle.

If I were Queen I'd be a brat too. *thinks about all the things she would ask for if she were Queen*

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 12:36pm

It's nice that the BBC has become a tabloid now. Move over, National Enquirer!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 1:17pm

Wow, I had no idea people here were so willing to accept the idea that people are born better than the general public and deserve much more than anyone else. I guess one can't even ask the Queen a question or make a comment because she deserves so much more because she was...um...born better than us.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 1:24pm

Oh please, that's not it at all. But there is a certain level of respect that is expected to be presented to her. No one said you can't talk to her, ask her questions, or even disagree with her. But it can be considered disrespectful had Lebovitz really told/asked her to remove her crown. That's all.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 1:35pm

VIETgrlTerifa---Well, she WAS born better than us. It's a blessing and a curse... but it's also a fact of life in our world.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 1:50pm

Big whoop. Respect for what? The crown? Yeah, that whole monarch ideal deserves a whole lot of respect.

[raphael06]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 2:17pm

Respect for history?

OT, AnnaK I LOVE your quote and that episode!

Updated On: 7/12/07 at 02:17 PM

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 2:32pm

Thanks me too!!

And yes. Respect for the crown. The monarchy is a part of English history that is still being respected today. Ideal? Well, they no longer have governmental say. They haven't for a long time, so they are really there to represent England's traditions and history. There's nothing wrong with that.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 2:36pm

I have huge respect for all people, but that doesn't mean they can't show me respect as well. I am not going to respect you simply because.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 2:41pm

I understand that, and I agree with that, but under the conditions (that turned out to be no true, but let's say hypothetically), she felt insulted. You could say her supposed reaction was uncalled for, but her reacting to what she felt was an insult is not saying that she doesn't show respect to others and everyone has to show her respect and expect nothing in return.

But, I really don't know the Queen. I'm not saying the Queen's feelings are more important than Lebovitz's but we're talking about a woman who is more than just your average celebrity.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/12/07 at 2:57pm

I'm wondering when the clip will make its way onto YouTube. The way they edited it, certainly makes it look like the Queen walked out of the photo shoot (especially with the guy holding her robe as she was walking).

She might be the Queen, but I'm sure she had a few choice words floating around in her head though.