Queen Elizabeth’s photographer recalls photographing the ‘evil’ royal

Queen Elizabeth’s photos say more than a thousand words.

A photographer who photographed the Queen on her Golden Jubilee in 2002 looked back at how she was photographed 20 years ago.

While the Scottish-born artist, who goes by the name Rankin, was nervous about photographing the now 96-year-old royal, he couldn’t help but think back to his memorable time with her.

“I was probably more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life,” Rankin, 56, told Fox News earlier this week.

Rankin, who has photographed many famous faces from Hugh Grant to Kendall Jenner to the royals, explained that the only other person who made him shake was Madonna.

But photographing the Queen didn’t make him nervous, noting that he was “very excited because as Head of State [the Queen] has been a part of my life since birth.”

He added: “When you grow up in the UK she becomes like an extended member of your family.”

“It was an absolute honor,” he continued. “I was always in awe of her as a person because of the sacrifices she made in her life. And although I grew up with her, I didn’t know much about her. So it was fascinating to have a brief moment where I could see who she really was as a person.”

In 2002, Rankin donned his best suit and went to Buckingham Palace to create the monarch’s portrait.

Carrying his gear, he anxiously awaited the Queen’s arrival in a long corridor alongside three palace attendants.

“[She is] the most famous woman in the world,” said the co-founder of Dazed + Confused magazine. “So obviously there was a lot of pressure to get it right. And I wasn’t afraid to photograph them. I just wanted to make sure it represented her perfectly.”

He noted that for a time he was preparing to greet the sovereign appropriately. He saw her coming toward him, laughing and joking with her servant.

“I was just like, ‘Oh my god, she has this great sense of humor,'” he said, adding that a “surge of power” came over him when she walked in.

He said: “When I saw her come in laughing, I calmed down too. During my research I read that she had this wicked, very cheeky sense of humor. And it showed clearly.”

The visual designer also recalled the conversation with the Queen and even cracked a few jokes. Then he said that part of her camera broke and she laughed about it.

“She humanized in front of me. I wanted to capture that feeling with my camera. When I saw that laugh, I was like, ‘This is it, I’m going to make her smile,'” Rankin said. “When my assistant finally got the piece back in, I said, ‘Ma’am, could you please smile? I have one where she gave this really massive smile. And at the end I got this one smile – that was the shot.”

The music video director took about 100 photos in four minutes. However, there were three snaps that really stood out to him. He sent the portraits to the palace for approval, and she chose the one on which he had the Union Jack affixed behind him.

The photograph was later exhibited at Windsor Castle and the National Portrait Gallery.