Elizabeth II in popular culture

(London) From the Sex Pistols to the Simpsons, via the series The Crown or the James Bond films, the instantly recognizable image of Queen Elizabeth II was used in popular culture throughout her reign.

Some did it fondly, others scratched it, but Her Majesty’s ubiquity in art, music and film underscored her place in popular imagery.

God Save The Queen

The cover of single God Save The Queen of the Sex Pistols, in 1977, with the face of the queen, the eyes and the mouth hidden under the title and the name of the group, is one of the most famous images of the punk movement… but also of Elizabeth II.

Artist Jamie Reid also created a version depicting the monarch with a safety pin on her lip and swastikas in place of pupils.

Many other songs have been written about the queen, among them Elizabeth My Dear (1989) by alternative rock band The Stone Roses, in which they said they “will not rest until she loses her throne”.

In 2005, the British electronic music group Basement Jaxx staged a sassy monarch going out at night in London, visiting a club in striptease and even coming to blows, in the clip You Do Not Know Me.

Portraits

The Queen posed for more than 175 portraits during her reign. Artists such as Cecil Beaton, Lucien Freud and Annie Leibovitz depicted her in her finest attire, at work or with her family.

But the best known are undoubtedly those made by the pop art pope, Andy Warhol, in 1985, as part of a series on the queens reigning at the time.

The American artist used an official photograph which he personalized, as he also did for Marilyn Monroe.

Seen on TV

Instantly recognizable with her brightly colored outfits, the Queen has been a cartoon character and has also appeared in TV shows and movies.

His Majesty thus appeared several times in the American series The simpsonsnotably in an episode where the main character, Homer, stamps his carriage at Buckingham Palace.

In the children’s cartoon Peppa Pig, the monarch jumps in puddles of mud. His character also appears in the movies Minions (2015), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) or even Is there a cop to save the queen? (1988), where she is played by Jeanette Charles, her most famous British look-alike.

In the intimacy

While the Queen has rarely granted interviews, her life has been featured in films, plays and television shows.

In The speech of a king (2010) Oscar-winning film about her father King George VI’s fight to overcome her stuttering, we see her as a child, while in The Queen (2006), Elizabeth II, played by Helen Mirren, faces the wrath of her subjects after the 1997 death of her stepdaughter, Princess Diana.

But it’s the hit series The Crown from Netflix which has chronicled the life of the Queen and her relationship with her husband Philip in the most detail, featuring marital disputes, scandals and political crises.

Premier role

After years of having her image hijacked, the Queen herself took the lead in 2012 by taking part in a skit at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

We see her surrounded by her beloved corgis at Buckingham Palace where she receives James Bond, played by Daniel Craig. “Good evening, Mr Bond,” she said to him, before the couple pretended to get into a helicopter, fly over London and finally parachute into the Olympic stadium.

In 2016, Elizabeth II also gave the reply to her grandson Prince Harry, in a video featuring former US President Barack Obama, to promote the Invictus Games, an international event created by Harry for wounded soldiers, at the picture of the olympic games.

With Paddington

The queen had reserved a surprise for her subjects in June for the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of her reign, during the platinum jubilee: she had shot a short video where we see her having tea with Paddington bear, clumsy icon of the British children’s literature.

She then beat time with a silver spoon on her porcelain cup, synchronized with the opening of a giant concert which was opening in front of Buckingham Palace.