Queen Elizabeth has released a new picture of herself, surrounded by the youngest generation of her family, to mark her 90th birthday.
It’s a gorgeous picture, and we particularly love Mia Tindall (Zara Philips’s kid) holding the queen’s iconic handbag in the center of the shot.
It was taken in the Green Drawing Room, part of Windsor Castle’s semi-State apartments, by Annie Leibovitz.
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But, seriously, what is going on with these kids’ socks?
Is there some unwritten rule that royal children under the age of 5 have to wear ludicrous legwear?
George, we know about. In his usual knee-sock-and-short combo, he looks almost conventional compared to the youngest kids in the picture, cousins Mia Tindall and Isla Phillips (daughter of the queen’s eldest grandson, Peter Phillips, and his wife, Autumn), who are wearing bizarre frilly short socks.
We can’t see the feet of Zara’s other child, Savannah, so her choice of sock remains unknown.
The full rundown of the children is as follows: James, Viscount Severn (left), 8, and Lady Louise (second left), 12, the children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex (Edward and Sophie); Mia Tindall (holding the queen’s handbag), the 2-year-old daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall; Savannah (third right), 5, and Isla Phillips (right), 3, daughters of Peter Phillips; Prince George (second right), 2, and, in the queen’s arms (and in the tradition of royal portraiture), the youngest great-grandchild, Princess Charlotte (11 months).
It is noticeable that the only person who appears not to have dressed up for the shoot is Her Majesty herself, who is wearing a plain cardigan and a white shirt.
The star of the show, however, is undoubtedly Mia with the handbag.
Cheeky little Mia Tindall can be seen proudly holding up her great-granny’s £1,000 Launer handbag in a moment, says one who was there, that was totally unscripted.
“The moment with Mia was completely spontaneous, it was not staged at all. She just picked up her great-granny’s handbag and that was it,” a source told the Daily Mail, “Taking pictures of children is like herding cats but for that split second, it just worked. Annie has children of her own and knows her stuff.”
In another picture released today, the queen is shown on the stone steps at the East Terrace of the castle’s private grounds, with her four dogs—two corgis and two dorgis.
The queen once said: “My corgis are family.”
Today the queen will officially mark her birthday with a walkabout in Windsor and an evening event with Prince Charles in which she will light the first of 1,000 beacons across the globe.
This will be followed by a private dinner at the castle for 60 of her closest friends and relatives, thrown by the Prince of Wales.
