Photograph of HM Queen Elizabeth II in head and shoulders length portrait and left side profile wearing the Queen Mary's 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' diamond tiara. The Queen is photographed against a plain background.

The first official photographic sitting with the new Queen was granted to the society photographer Dorothy Wilding. It took place on 26 February 1952, just twenty days after the accession. There was a second sitting on 15 April. A total of fifty-nine photographs were taken by Wilding, showing The Queen dressed in a variety of gowns designed by Norman Hartnell and wearing jewellery including the Diamond Diadem. The photographs taken during both sittings were the basis of The Queen’s image on postage stamps from 1953 until 1971, as well as providing the official portrait of The Queen which was sent to every British embassy throughout the world.