Photograph of Princess Elizabeth, now HM Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) and Princess Margaret (1930-2002). Three-quarters length portrait, seated side by side, Princess Margaret holding silver rattle. They both smile and wear short-sleeved dresses, necklaces. There was only one royal sitting in 1932, but it resulted in a great many successful portraits, including this study of the sisters, aged six and nearly two. Writing in The Listener in 1939, Adams explained that it is a child’s ever-changing expression that he strove to capture: ‘To realise these subtle and fleeting expressions one must be fit and in tune – your mind must be as sensitive as a photographic plate, and your actions as quick as a swallow.'