Sex Pistols and ‘The Simpsons’: The queen in pop culture
From a Sex Pistols single to The Simpsons, The Crown and Andy Warhol works, Queen Elizabeth’s pop culture cameos were frequent and often unforgettable.
Some depictions were affectionate, others more hostile, but the monarch’s indelible image in art, music and film cemented her status as one of the most recognisable people in the world.
Here are some of her most memorable appearances:
‘God Save The Queen’
With her eyes and mouth covered with collaged words, the cover of the 1977 Sex Pistols single God Save The Queen is one of the most iconic images of the punk movement – and of Elizabeth II.
The artist, Jamie Reid, also created a version depicting the queen with a safety pin through her mouth and Nazi swastika symbols on her eyes.
Of the many other songs about the queen, the gentle Her Majesty by The Beatles in 1969 contrasts with Elizabeth My Dear on the 1989 debut album by The Stone Roses, where they declared they would not rest until she lost the throne.
The Queen Is Dead, the title track from the 1986 hit album by The Smiths, featured lead singer Morrissey railing against media fascination with the royal family.
“The very idea of the monarchy and the queen of England is...