I am not a “royal photographer” by any sense of the imagination, however over the years I have photographed Queen Elizabeth II many times as part of my work as a press photographer either as part of the “royal rota” or at what are known as “fixed points” (i.e. Accredited)

My first memories of the queen having any influence / importance are from the Silver Jubilee year, I can remember the street party and fancy dress quite well but my overriding memory is away from these.

The Queen was due to visit Highbury Fields (my family are from the Islington area in London although we lived in Edmonton at the time). My parents wanted to take my brother and I to see her on this day however it was a school day so mum planned to phone us in sick. That day was also my cycling proficiency test day and I was in tears, being extremely upset at missing it which would mean I would be unable to cycle to school.

A compromise was reached. I went to school in the morning, did the test, earned my right to cycle to school before earning another award – this time for acting as I threw my best “tummy cramps and headaches” performance.

My parents collected me from school “sick” and we made it to Highbury fields seeing Her Majesty shake the hands of a couple of elderly women standing next to us (dad had a theory that she had a regular pattern of greeting on these walkabouts).

Anyway I digress… here is a very quick selection of photos I have taken of the late queen over the years….