Painted out of History

The abdication crisis of 1937 forced a royalist magazine to present a different face to the world, as Luci Gosling reports.

Click to see larger version: Albert Collings' portrait of George VI complete with the invoice and a note for the extra fee for 'alteration of face'. Mary Evans Picture Library.As Britain prepares to mark Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee this June, with newsagents’ shelves stacked with books, supplements and one-off publications to mark the occasion, it is worth noting that landmark royal events have inspired publishing frenzies for at least 150 years. The Illustrated London News (ILN), founded in 1842, had a reputation for producing the most lavish ‘special’ editions for each jubilee, wedding or royal coronation.

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