Photograph of Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926), head and shoulder length, facing the camera and smiling. She wears a blazer and a matching cap. A bow and a pin of a fired grenade is attached to the centre of the cap. Pinned to the blazer's lapel is a brooch depicting the Regimental cypher. Princess Elizabeth poses against a backdrop depicting a nature scene.

Following the death in January 1942 of her great-great-uncle and godfather, the Duke of Connaught, Princess Elizabeth was appointed on 24 February to succeed him as the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. This was the first time a female held the position. To mark the occasion, the officers of the regiment presented the Princess with a diamond brooch in the form of the regimental badge, as seen in the portrait. The brooch was presented on 20 April 1942 at the Princess’s first official audience, and the following day - on her sixteenth birthday - an inspection of the Grenadier Guards was the Princess’s first official public engagement.

The Grenadier Guards are the most senior of the five regiments of Foot Guards - the others being the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards and Welsh Guards. Together, the Foot Guards serve as the personal troops of the Sovereign, guarding the Royal Family and fulfilling ceremonial functions as well as normal military duties. Queen Elizabeth is Colonel-in-Chief of all five regiments.