I couldn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee this year so I’ve been planning the studio window display and a competition to mark the occasion.

It’s hard to believe that the Queen has been the head of state for 70 years. That is a huge achievement.

I remember the celebrations for the Silver Jubilee – a party on the common near my home and we were all given a special key ring as a keepsake. I was very impressed with this and my friend and I were telling people that the key rings ‘must have cost at least 50p’, much to my Mum’s amusement!

I’m sorry to say that key ring is long gone, but my husband pulled his Silver Jubilee keepsake out of a drawer, still with the hand written name card inside the box. It is a Sheffield made commemorative spoon in a lovely, old fashioned box and every child in his school received one. Not only that, he then produced his t-shirt, a drawing he’d done and a Silver Jubilee mug!

Special occasions should certainly be marked and I think a portrait is the ideal way of capturing that moment in time. I’m sure the Queen will be having portraits taken to mark this momentous occasion and portraits taken throughout our lives form part of our family history, or in the Queen’s case, the country’s history.

The portraits I’ve selected for the window echo the Queen and her strength as they are some of the images taken for my International Women’s Day project earlier this year. I felt it was fitting to include strong, beautiful women from our local area at a time when the country will be celebrating the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee.

To enter our Portrait Prize Draw to win a prize worth £325 , click on the link, complete the form and keep your fingers crossed!

https://doubleimagephotography.smugmug.com/Jubilee-prize-draw

Good luck and enjoy the Jubilee celebrations!