Her reign captured in photos at Windsor Castle

Sixty photographs chronicling the Queen’s 60 years as monarch are on display in Windsor to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

The pictures capture the sovereign at relaxed family gatherings, exotic locations around the world, and the fleeting candid moments of public events.

At the start of her reign in 1952 many people would only have known the Queen’s image from black and white newspaper photographs or news reels played in cinemas.

Today, with the use of digital technology, the monarch’s likeness can be sent across the globe in seconds and her every move is captured whenever she is at official events.

A photograph of her meeting one of America’s most celebrated leaders, John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 at Buckingham Palace, is featured at the exhibition at Windsor Castle which opened on Saturday and runs untilOctober 28.

Another image captures the moment the monarch went riding with President Ronald Reagan in Home Park at Windsor in 1982 during his stay at the Castle.

A striking photograph from 2005 captures the Queen and former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher in silhouette on the sovereign’s arrival at the ex-politician’s 80th birthday celebrations.

The Queen’s love of animals is also well documented and her affection for her famous corgis is illustrated in the exhibition. One picture from January 1959 shows a youthful looking sovereign working at her desk with a corgi at her feet.