Hugo Vickers – The Queen & Cecil Beaton

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Hugo Vickers, biographer of Cecil Beaton and an acknowledged expert on the Royal Family, will give a public lecture in Dundee next month as part of the events surrounding the V&A exhibition `Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration’.

Dundee is the first location to host the V&A’s exhibition of portraits of Her Majesty The Queen by photographer Cecil Beaton, to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Presenting highlights of the V&A’s archive of Beaton’s royal photography, Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration will depict The Queen in her roles as princess, monarch and mother.

The exhibition will run at The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum from Friday September 30th to Sunday January 8th.

Cecil Beaton photographed some of the most fascinating, evocative and important characters of the 20th century. A teenage princess when she first sat for him in 1942, the Queen was photographed by Beaton on many significant occasions, including her Coronation Day.

In his talk Hugo Vickers will explore Beaton’s development as a royal photographer, the role he played in portraying The Queen and the long relationship between photographer and regal model.

Hugo Vickers is an expert on Cecil Beaton, giving five years of his life to reading all 150 of Beaton’s diaries. He is Cecil Beaton's authorised biographer and literary executor. Also an acknowledged expert on the Royal Family, Vickers is frequently called to comment on royal matters.

The lecture takes place at 6pm on Saturday 8th October in the Dalhousie Building at the University of Dundee.

All are welcome to attend and admission is free.

Tickets can be booked in advance: