The Queen marks Platinum Jubilee with throwback photos of first official royal portraits

This year marks a major milestone for the Queen, as it is her Platinum Jubilee and celebration of 70 years of service.

The 95-year-old monarch is set for a busy year as she has a long list of royal engagements and celebrations to carry out to mark the major milestone, which also includes a four-day bank holiday weekend in June with possible, amongst other big events in her diary.

To commemorate being the first British monarch to reign over seven decades, the Royal Family shared a "throwback photo" of Her Majesty 70 years ago when she sat for her first royal portraits as Sovereign following her accession in 1952.

The Royal Family's official Instagram account posted a black and white photo, which captures Queen Elizabeth II posing for the photograph from a side profile.

The image was taken by photographer Dorothy Wilding, and were of particular importance as they not only marked the first official photos of the monarch as the Queen of England, but they became the template for coins, bank notes and stamps for years to come.

The caption on the photo read: "On this day 70 years ago, just twenty days after her accession to the throne, The Queen sat for her first official portraits as Sovereign.

"These iconic photographs were taken by Dorothy Wilding to produce portraits to use as the basis for The Queen’s image on new coins, banknotes and stamps, as well as providing the official portrait of Her Majesty which was sent to every British embassy throughout the world.

"As part of the #PlatinumJubilee celebrations this year, @royalcollectiontrust are staging a special exhibition in the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace that will feature a display looking at The Queen's Accession to the throne in February 1952."

In just a matter of minutes the post has racked up over 130,000 likes on the photo-sharing site, as well as numerous posts showing support.

For those who wish to see more photos and archives of the Queen and her accession will receive exactly that, as later this year the Royal Collection trust will be hosting a special exhibition at Buckingham Palace, which will feature a display of Queen Elizabeth II's accession.

Meanwhile, the Queen is currently recovering from COVID-19, and though she has reportedly had all vaccinations, she has been forced to postpone royal engagements, in person and virtually, to allow her to rest.