Queen Elizabeth II and Her Time Magazine Covers

There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth II is the world’s favourite magazine “cover girl”, with her photographs gracing the covers of innumerable magazines around the world. Since her birth, the queen has remained the darling of the press. Her endearing smile and dignified personality has helped her to maintain a positive image among journalists while earning her their respect.

In every significant milestone of her life, magazine editors and publishers never missed to feature the queen. I think the mere fact that her face graces the cover of an issue means inviting more readers to grab a copy. Time magazine is one of the publications that has placed the queen on the cover of ten of its issues in a  span of nine decades, the first when she was just a two-year-old princess and the most recent in 2012 when she celebrated her diamond jubilee on the throne. Let’s revisit Queen Elizabeth II’s Time magazine covers and learn about the stories behind each one of them. 

 Apr. 29, 1929

Queen Elizabeth II was barely three years old when she was featured on the cover of Time magazine, her first for the publication. The princess was already world-famous and became an instant fashion trendsetter. For example, when it was told that her closet was full of yellow dresses, mothers were quick to dismiss of their daughters’ red and blue clothes and switch for yellow ones.

March 31, 1947

Princess Elizabeth, by then heiress to the throne, graced the cover of Time magazine, in time for her twenty-first birthday. Shortly afterwards, while on tour of South Africa together with her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and sister Princess Margaret, she broadcasted her most famous speech. In it, her pledge to devote her life “whether it be long or short” touched the hearts of many. It is said that her words even moved Winston Churchill to tears.

February 18, 1952

The now-Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952, was featured on the cover of Time’s February 18 issue. She was in Kenya – with her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh—when news reached her of the passing of her father, King George VI, and her ascension to the throne. She immediately  flew back to London to usher in her long reign.

January 5, 1953

Queen Elizabeth II was selected as Time’s Person of the Year for 1952 and was featured on the magazine’s January 5, 1953 issue. She was crowned in June that year and would go on to become the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom.

June 29, 1959

Queen Elizabeth II was featured on the June 1959 cover of Time wearing  the Vladimir Tiara, the Queen Victoria Jubilee Necklace, the blue Garter Riband, Badge and Garter Star and the Royal Family Orders of King George V and King George VI. She  closed the first decade of her reign in an upward swing, highlighted by her extensive tour of the Commonwealth in 1953-54, which allowed her to personally meet millions of her subjects, one that thing her predecessors have not done. 

May 3, 1976

On the May 3, 1976 issue of Time , Queen Elizabeth II shares the cover with her royal cousins: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.  The royals were collectively featured as Europe’s “modern royalty.”

June 3, 2002

The year 2002 was a bittersweet year for Queen Elizabeth II. In February, Princess Margaret died, followed by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in March. It was also her golden jubilee year on the throne. The Commonwealth-wide celebrations, nevertheless, had to go on and this milestone definitely warranted a feature on the cover of Time’s Europe edition.

April 17, 2006

The queen turns 80 in 2006 and she once again graced the magazine’s Europe edition, where her “working life” and “enduring popularity” were featured.

May 14, 2007

Queen Elizabeth II appears (near the bottom right) on the cover of Time’s May 14 issue as a member of the elite TIME 100.

June 4, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in the most festive mood. The celebrations reached its climax as she, together with members of the British Royal Family, greeted a sea of crowd who gathered before the Buckingham Palace balcony. It was an unprecedented display of affection to the queen who dedicated her life in the service of the people. Time magazine pays tribute to the monarch by featuring yet again on the cover of its Europe edition.