A personal collection of 26 official photographs of the UK's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, taken when they were preparing for a royal tour of India and Pakistan in 1961, will be auctioned next month.
The rare images belonged to royal photographer Anthony Buckley, who died in 1993, and will go on sale at Ewbank’s auctioneers in Surrey on June 18.
Mr Buckley was commissioned to take portraits of the queen and Prince Philip in one of the finest rooms of Buckingham Palace, the Blue Drawing Room, to illustrate the grandeur of the monarch’s official residence.
The collection of black-and-white images were shot in October 1960 as the royals prepared for the seven-week tour, which featured state visits to Iran and Nepal, and further stops in Pakistan and India.
The tour was the first time the queen had visited the former colonies, which had by then gained independence and become members of the Commonwealth.
The photographs were taken during Buckley’s first sitting with the couple and passed to Buckley’s fellow royal photographer and business partner, Alan Shawcross, who has consigned them to auction to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Mr Shawcross said: “Because they knew they would be going into the finest places during the tour, the brief was to show as much of the grand setting of Buckingham Palace as possible.
“The album is a one-off. There’s nothing like it. I’m pretty sure some of the photographs in it have never been reproduced anywhere.”
The formal portraits show the 34-year-old monarch and her consort, then aged 39, separately and together, with Prince Philip, who died last month, in full naval uniform as Admiral of the Fleet, and both adorned with the Order of the Garter. The queen is also wearing memorial brooches for her father, King George VI, and grandfather, King George V.
Buckley had initially gained a reputation for his portraits of the leading actors and actresses of the day when he first opened his studio in 1937. A retrospective show dedicated to his work at the National Portrait Gallery in 2002 included portraits from the 1930s through the 1960s of stars such as Kenneth Williams, Virginia McKenna, Alec Guinness and Carol Reed.
In the 1950s, he worked with Dorothy Wilding, who took the original photo of the queen used for postage stamps from 1952 to 1967.
Mr Shawcross first met Buckley on assignment at Buckingham Palace. “We went to photograph the Duke of Edinburgh one morning in 14 different uniforms, each linked to his honorary or senior role, whether military or naval. I was stationed alongside the duke and it was my job to hold the swords and hats.”
Last year, nine of Buckley's portrait photographs of the queen, dating to 1963 and taken for use on Canadian banknotes, brought £13,000 ($18,442) at auction.
Mr Shawcross believes that what made Buckley such a good photographer was his combination of sensitivity and sense of elegance.
“Buckley was very proper and upright. I think he was a brilliant photographer. As quite a sensitive man, he was able to communicate well with his sitters and this allowed him to be gently persuasive in showing them to their advantage, which is essential for success as a portrait photographer.
“The sheer quality of his prints stands out. Nearly all black and white, they are of a very high order and exquisite.”
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
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Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
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Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
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Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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