As part of the British Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year, 60 photographs of Queen Elizabeth — including the work of leading press photographers of the past six decades — will be displayed in Windsor Castle.

A series of exhibitions will also mark the celebrations wherein items to be on display include a diamonds-inspired exhibit at Buckingham Palace and the largest collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical drawings at The Queen’s Gallery.

The exhibition will present a portrait of The Queen’s reign as captured in fleeting moments on both official occasions and at relaxed family gatherings. In addition, 10 da Vinci drawings will travel to galleries and museums in Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast, Dundee and Hull throughout 2012.

“Our exhibitions celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee through many of the finest works of art, and we are particularly delighted to be sharing, on behalf of The Queen, some of these great treasures with museums and galleries across the UK,” says Jonathan Marsden, Director of the Royal Collection.

“This is a fitting tribute to Her Majesty’s commitment over the past 60 years to the care and conservation of the Collection and to increasing public access.”

Shaped by the personal tastes of kings and queens over more than 500 years, the Royal Collection includes paintings, drawings and water-colours, furniture, ceramics, clocks, silver, sculpture, jewellery, books, manuscripts, prints and maps, arms and armour, fans, and textiles.

The Royal Collection is held in trust by The Queen as Sovereign for her successors and the Nation, and is not owned by her as a private individual. The Collection has largely been formed since the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.  May I share with you that the Royal Collection also has an online e-Gallery that enables you to request items from the Collection for commercial reproduction.

The Queen is Head of State of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms. The elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, she was born at 2.40 a.m. on 21 April 1926 in London and became Queen at the age of 25.

The Queen is married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and has four children and eight grandchildren.

After her marriage in 1947, Princess Elizabeth enjoyed the life of a naval wife and young mother but this way of life was not to last long, as her father’s health was deteriorating. In 1952, King George VI’s illness forced him to abandon his proposed visit to Australia and New Zealand. The Princess, accompanied by Prince Philip, took his place.

On 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father’s death and her own accession to the throne, while staying in a remote part of Kenya. The tour had to be abandoned, and the young Princess flew back to Britain as Queen. The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. In the summer of 2006, the Queen celebrated her 80th birthday. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary on 20 November 2010.