The most famous face in the world
By Adam Edwards
Last Updated:
11:58pm BST 19/04/2006
The Queen is 80 and one can confidently say she has reached a most unusual landmark. Her face is the most reproduced image of any human being since Jesus Christ. Even Queen Victoria would find it hard to compete with her ubiquity.
Since Queen Elizabeth II's birth, and for the 54 years she has been on the throne, her portrait has been a visible part of the known world. It has graced billions of stamps, coins and banknotes. Over the years it has flickered on every cinema screen (Pathé News) and appeared on most television sets (Queen's Speech and her tours).
It has been printed in almost every newspaper and magazine and hung in local council buildings and parish halls. There are ships, hospitals, pubs and caravan parks across the globe named after her and that carry her likeness - and we haven't begun to scratch the surface of the tea towel industry.
Queen Elizabeth is a marketing behemoth. A cursory glance at eBay will bring up more than 3,000 articles bearing the Queen's head, from a Queen Elizabeth II bosun's whistle to a 1950s powder compact.
Her head has appeared on pottery, kitchen accessories, smoking paraphernalia and tins of every kind. And it is not just the traditional image of the Queen that is iconic.
The Sex Pistols took the official 1977 Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty and stuck a safety pin through her lip to promote their ironic single God Save the Queen. Pop artist Andy Warhol produced a silk screen of her in carnival colours, from the same photograph.
Even without an 80th fillip, the Queen can safely claim unrivaled historical exposure of her image.
