From a Sex Pistols single to The Simpsons, The Crown and works by Andy Warhol, Queen Elizabeth’s guest appearances in pop culture have been frequent and often memorable.
Some portrayals were affectionate, others more hostile, but the monarch’s indelible image in art, music and film cemented her status as one of the world’s most recognizable people.
Here are some of their most memorable performances:
– ‘God Save the Queen’ –
The cover of the 1977 Sex Pistols single “God Save The Queen,” with her eyes and mouth covered in collage, is one of the most iconic images of the punk movement — and of Elizabeth II.
Artist Jamie Reid also created a version depicting the Queen with a safety pin through her mouth and Nazi swastika symbols on her eyes.
Of the many other songs about the Queen, The Beatles’ gentle 1969 “Her Majesty” contrasts with “Elizabeth My Dear” on The Stone Roses’ 1989 debut album, where they declared they were not resting would until she loses the throne.
In The Smiths’ hit 1986 album, The Queen Is Dead, lead singer Morrissey railed against the media’s fascination with the royal family.
“The mere idea of ??the monarchy and the Queen of England is being reinforced and made more useful than it really is,” Morrissey told NME magazine.
“The whole thing seems like a joke to me. A vile joke.”
In 2005, electronic dance act Basement Jaxx envisioned the Queen on a night out in London for the music video for “You Don’t Know Me,” which shows her visiting a strip club and getting into a fight.
– Warhol’s silkscreens –
The Queen sat for numerous artists during her reign, including Cecil Beaton, Lucian Freud and Annie Leibovitz, showing them in full regalia, at work or with her family.
But few captured the public imagination like Andy Warhol’s Technicolor screenprints as part of a 1985 series on reigning queens.
Warhol used an official photograph, which he adapted in a range of colors and styles – a treatment also used to portray stars like Marilyn Monroe.
– screen time –
Easily recognized by her polished accent and striking colors, the queen has been frequently portrayed in cartoons, television shows, and films.
She appeared several times in the US cult series “The Simpsons”, including in an episode in which the main character Homer drove her golden carriage in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The monarch starred on British satirical puppet show Spitting Image and children’s TV hit Peppa Pig, where she jumped into muddy puddles.
She has also acted in films such as Minions, Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Naked Gun – some of them starring Jeannette Charles, her most famous British double.
– private life –
The Queen rarely gave interviews and never revealed details about her most private moments.
But there have been many cinematic depictions of the life she was to lead behind the palace gates.
Portrayed in films, plays and television programs, all helped shape public perceptions of the royal family.
She was portrayed as a child in the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech, about her father, King George VI’s struggle to overcome his stutter, and as a monarch faced with public anger following the death of her daughter-in-law Princess in 1997 Diana in The Queen.
One of the most influential was Netflix’s big-budget TV series The Crown, which told in luxurious detail the story of the Queen and her husband Philip before she ascended the throne, complete with family squabbles, scandals and political crises.
– Olympic Parody –
After years of being used and abused for her image, the Queen herself took the screen in a skit for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012.
She was filmed surrounded by her beloved corgis at Buckingham Palace as she met James Bond star Daniel Craig, dressed as a suave spy in black tie.
“Good evening Mr Bond,” she said before the couple appeared to board a helicopter, flew over London and then parachuted into the stadium.
In 2016, she also appeared in a video with her grandson Prince Harry, which also featured former US President Barack Obama, to promote the Prince’s veteran sports championship, the Invictus Games.
One of her most recent appearances was with popular children’s animated television character Paddington Bear at her platinum anniversary celebrations in June.
The pair shared a love of jam sandwiches and banged the beat to Queen’s anthem “We Will Rock You” to kick off a star-studded pop concert.
