A Press Association photographer, Jane Barlow, who took the last public picture of Queen Elizabeth II before her death, spoke of what happened when they met.
Barlow was sent to Balmoral to capture the moment the monarch met Liz Truss, the new prime minister, on Tuesday, September 6, two days before she died, to ask her to officially form a government. She took some portraits of the Queen while she waited for the Conservative Party leader to arrive at her Scottish estate.
The photographer described the Queen, 96, as “frail” but “in good spirits”.
Barlow said photographing the Queen was “an honour and a privilege”, according to the photographer who took the last public photos of her.
Ms Barlow, from Belper in Derbyshire, has photographed the Queen several times.
She said the Queen was “very smiley” as they spoke before Ms Truss arrived.
The Queen apparently talked about the weather and how dark it was, and was “frail” but in “good spirits”.
I was there to photograph her meeting the new prime minister but for me the best picture was the one of the Queen on her own. And it has obviously become more significant now,” said Ms Barlow, who previously worked for the Derby Telegraph newspaper.
“I’ve had so many lovely comments about the picture.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to take that picture, an honour and a privilege. It’s like that for a lot of our job.”
Ms Truss was then formally announced and came into the room, and Ms Barlow said the Queen “greeted her with a big smile”.
The photo of the Queen shaking hands with Ms Truss sparked concerns about her health because her right hand appeared to be bruising.
“She certainly did look more frail than when I photographed her in the summer,” Ms Barlow said.
“When she came up for Holyrood Week, at the time they were telling me she would do one, perhaps two engagements, but she did quite a lot that week.”
That week, Ms Barlow photographed the Queen as she had audiences with Nicola Sturgeon and Holyrood Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone and took part in a number of official engagements.
