Royal Profile - Patrick Lichfield

Patrick Lichfield was probably best known as a cousin of the Queen and the photographer who took the portraits for the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981. However, there was more to Patrick Lichfield than his proximity to the royal family.

Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, was born on the 25th of April 1939. His parents were William, Viscount Anson and Princess Georg of Denmark, the former Anne Bowes-Lyon, daughter of John Bowes-Lyon, the late Queen Mother's brother. Although he bore the title of the Earl of Lichfield, a title inherited from his grandfather, when he was working he preferred to be called plain 'Patrick'.

Educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, he served as a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards before becoming a photographer. Early in his career, he found an increasing demand for editorial work in national newspapers and various magazines, including Life during the Vietnam war, although not in the war zone. His biggest break came when the legendary Diana Vreeland gave him a 5-year contract with Vogue magazine. He worked in numerous advertising campaigns including, from 1978, the prestigious Unipart calendar.

He took up photography at the age of six, taking his first picture of the Queen when he was playing in a cricket match against Eton. Unfortunately, these pictures will never be published as the headmaster confiscated his camera shortly afterwards. Undeterred, his first official royal sitting was with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1967, thus beginning a working relationship with the royal family.

His royal portfolio ranged from the 1971 group photograph of 26 members of the royal family, the Silver Wedding portrait of the Queen and Prince Philip, to an intimate photograph of Prince Charles with his young cousin Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones at Balmoral. His most recent commission was a portrait of the Queen for her Golden Jubilee in 2002. He published numerous books on photography and his work has been exhibited worldwide. He was awarded Fellowships from the British Institute of Professional Photographers and The Royal Photographic Society.

Before his photographic career took off he came close to springboard diving for Britain, but missed out on a place on the Olympic team. He loved swimming and in the 1980's he became a qualified underwater diver, spending much of his free time doing so on the Carribean island of Mustique where he had a home. His other hobbies included sky-diving, cricket, and riding motorcycle.

Patrick Lichfield married Lady Leonora Mary Grosvenor, who was the eldest daughter of the 5th Duke of Westminster. They were divorced in 1986. The marriage produced three children, Lady Rose (born 1976), Thomas, Viscount Anson (born 1978), and Lady Eloise (born 1981).

On November 10th, 2005 he suffered a stroke and was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he died the following morning.

© Marilyn Braun

Ask Marilyn

I LOVE to write about royalty!

I also LOVE to answer questions on royalty! Not as much as writing articles on royalty, but it's pretty close.

So, I've decided to change the format of my webpage to a question and answer theme. If you have a question on royalty, I will do my best to answer it.

So go ahead Ask Marilyn

Queens Regnant

Definition: A queen regnant is a female ruler who reigns in her own right. Unlike a queen consort who is the spouse of the reigning king, with no official role of her own, a queen regnant rules with all monarchical powers that a king would have, regardless of gender.

Currently there are three European queens regnant: Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, Queen Margarethe II of Denmark, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Prior to their accession, these women were regarded as Heiress Presumptive, (the presumption being that a male might be born to replace them). The history of queens regnant in each country is very different. Denmark has had one Queen Regnant prior to Margarethe II; she was Queen Margarethe I (1387-1412) although she acted as regent until her son came of age. England has had six queens regnant. In the Netherlands, Queen's ruled the 20th century and when Beatrix's son, Willem-Alexander, succeeds he will be the first male monarch in over a century.

Despite having an illustrious history of female monarchs, the United Kingdom, like Denmark, still follows male primogeniture. However, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Belgium have changed their succession laws to allow the firstborn to succeed regardless of gender.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Of the three queens regnant, Elizabeth II has reigned the longest. She is the oldest queen, but at the age of 25 she was the youngest to come to the throne. At the time of her birth, she was third in line and her chances of becoming queen were remote. It wasn't until her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, that she became heiress presumptive. She had one younger sister, the late Princess Margaret. In 1947 she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and they have four children: Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales (born 1948), the Princess Royal (born 1950), Prince Andrew, Duke of York (born 1960), and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, (born 1964).


Queen Margarethe II of Denmark

Although she was the eldest child of the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark, when Queen Margarethe was born, women did not have rights to inherit the throne at all. Her uncle was next in line until a 1953 referendum made Princess Margarethe heiress presumptive. When her father died in 1972, she became the first Queen regnant under the new Act of succession. Queen Margarethe is considered to be the most intellectual monarch - studying at no fewer than five universities. She is also extremely accomplished as an artist and writer. Queen Margarethe is regarded as Europe's most modern and progressive monarchs; openly granting interviews and making herself easily accessible to her subjects. The Queen has two younger sisters, Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. In 1967 she married French diplomat, Count Henri deLaborde de Monpezat (Prince Henrik upon marriage). They have two sons: Crown Prince Frederik (born 1968), and Prince Joachim (born 1969).

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Queen Beatrix is the fourth successive female sovereign in the Netherlands. She was the first of four daughters born to Queen Julianna and Prince Bernhard. She has three younger sisters - Princess Irene, Princess Margriet, and Princess Christina.

Like Queen Margarethe, Queen Beatrix is academically well educated, studying international and European law and international relations. She earned a law degree in 1961.

Unlike Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Margarethe II, Beatrix succeeded upon the abdication of her mother, Queen Juliana, in 1980. At 42 she was the oldest of the three to ascend the thorne. In the Netherlands, abdication has become something of a tradition, although it is unknown whether she will choose to do so in favour of her eldest son.

In 1966, she married a German diplomat, Claus von Amsberg (upon marriage he became Prince Claus). They had three sons: Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (born 1967), Prince Johan Frisco (born 1968), and Prince Constantijn (born 1969). Prince Claus died in 2002.

The future

With the changes in succession laws, allowing for the first born to succeed regardless of gender, in the future we will see queens regnant on the thrones of Belgium (Princess Elisabeth), Norway (Princess Ingrid Alexandra), the Netherlands (Princess Catharina-Amalia), and Sweden (Crown Princess Victoria). If the succession rules are changed we might even see Princess Aiko as Empress of the Chrysanthemum throne, and the newborn Infanta Leonor as the first Queen of Spain in over 150 years.

God save the Queen's


© Marilyn Braun

For more information check out the Official British, Danish and Dutch sites.