A Kenyan photo agency has published old, never-before-seen photos of Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week at the age of 96.
Elizabeth II smiles at African children waving small flags, or getting off the “royal train”, or shaking hands with a young boy whose curiosity prompted him to approach her… This is a sampling of many photographs of the Queen who had been lying for years in the archives of the famous Kenyan photographer Mohamed Amin.
These black and white photos reflect an unimaginable ease in getting close to the Queen, for example, showing the friendly atmosphere that prevailed in her meetings with the Kenyan president on every visit to the African country. The photos show at least three such encounters.
Elizabeth II had a special relationship with Kenya, where she was present when she received the news of her father’s death in 1952. A princess arrived in this British colony at that time, and a queen emerged from it.
Armed with a camera in hand, Muhammad Amin covered all the royal visits to Kenya during his lifetime.
This photographer achieved great fame with shocking photos he took during the famine in Ethiopia in 1984, through which he shed light on this tragedy globally. His record abounds with about three million photos over his long career.
For decades, Muhammad Amin led the camerapix company, which provided many media outlets with photos and videos, before he tragically died in 1996 at the age of 53 in a hijacked plane crash.
His son Salim Amin received the torch on his behalf in Nairobi, where he manages the huge archives in his father’s private collection, replete with photographs that have never been shown to the public.
In 1992, Muhammad Amin, who throughout his career had been a distinguished witness to all important events on the African continent, was awarded the Order of Elizabeth II, who elevated him to the rank of Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Last year, Google created an online catalog to archive its work, in cooperation with the Mohamed Amin Foundation, which trains especially young Africans in journalism and filmmaking. And placed in this electronic library more than six thousand pictures from his archives, to be followed by other pictures, some rare and previously unpublished, about Elizabeth II’s visits to Kenya.
#Unpublished #photos #Queen #Elizabeth