Slideshow: Unofficial Portraits of The Queen

Click on image to begin slideshow

This humorous history of the Queen’s reign at the Cartoon Museum in London ranges from the affectionate to the critical, reflecting both the changing view of the monarchy from 1953 and the way cartoonists have been allowed to show the monarch herself.

At the show's launch, Kenneth Baker spoke of the long tradition of British cartoons dating back to Hogarth, and the graphic way cartoonists have poked fun at the monarchy.  He contrasted Gillray’s 1793 depiction of George III blasting excrement on France, with Dave Brown’s recent cartoon of the Queen’s  visit to Ireland, where she is sitting comfortably on a cushion.  Queen Victoria, by contrast, was not directly criticised except after Albert’s death in 1867 when she withdrew from public life and The Tomohawk shocked with the throne covered in a dustsheet.

Many of the themes have resonance today; a Cummings’ cartoon of 1997 refers to the Government’s decision to replace the Royal Yacht, while others cover the topic of Scottish nationalism.

A large number of the cartoons on display have been provided by the British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent.

Her Maj: 60 Years of Unofficial Portraits of the Queen is at the Cartoon Museum, London, until 8 April 2012.