Annie Leibovitz describes the Queen as 'cranky' during photoshoot

London, Sept 5 : Photographer Annie Leibovitz admits that she left honoured to be the first American invited to produce an official portrait of the Queen, although the Queen was a bit cranky at the photoshoot.

While writing about the exchange in a new book serialised in the October issue of Vanity Fair, the 58-year-old photographer revealed that during the shoot, she asked the Queen to remove her "crown", which was actually a tiara, for a "less dressy" shot.

To which the Queen, wearing a ceremonial robe, retorted: "Less dressy? What do you think this is?"

"I thought she was being funny. English humour. But I noticed that the dresser and everyone else who had been working with her were staying about 20 feet away from her," the Telegraph quoted Leibovitz, as saying

Although the Queen was late for the sitting, the entire shoot was done in less than 25 minutes, Leibovitz added.

"Right after we finished, I went up to the press secretary and said how much I loved the Queen. How feisty she was," she said

"Later I mentioned to a couple of friends that she had been a bit cranky, but it was nothing unusual," she added.

ANI