Queen Elizabeth II can add another celebratory experience to her list of exciting endeavors surrounding her 90th birthday.
The matriarch poses for the cover of Vanity Fair's latest issue as a means of commemorating her milestone birthday—a moment that was captured by none other than esteemed photographer, Annie Leibovitz.
"The most moving, important thing about this shoot is that these were all her ideas," Leibovitz said of photographing the Queen in her home at Windsor Castle. "She wanted to be photographed with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; her daughter, Anne, the Princess Royal; and her corgis."
Leibovitz added, "I was told how relaxed she was at Windsor, and it was really true. You get the sense of how at peace she was with herself, and very much enthralled with her family."
For the cover, the Queen poses with four of her famous corgi dogs. She holds Holly on her lap while Willow, Vulcan, and Candy sit on the floor. The latter pups are both dorgis—a crossbreed between a corgi and a dachshund that belonged to her sister, Princess Margaret.
Corgis have been a big part of the Queen's life since her childhood, which explains why Vanity Fair chose this as the cover of the important issue. In fact, in 1949, the matriarch started a program of royal corgi breeding from her first puppy named Susan. The Queen herself oversaw this program over five decades.