Portrait of a Queen; Seldom-seen pictures reveal a jovial Elizabeth II in honor of her 80th birthday.

Byline: Ginanne Brownell

To her critics, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is a stiff and off-putting curmudgeon, hostile to modernizing the monarchy and rather unfeeling toward her heirs. But a new photo exhibit at Windsor Castle to commemorate her 80th birthday this week leaves a markedly different impression: that of a convivial and happy woman who cares deeply for her family and has a profound respect for her role as sovereign.

Straightforwardly if clumsily titled, "An Exhibition of Photographs to Celebrate the 80th Birthday of HM the Queen" (through March 2007) is presented in chronological order and includes some gems seldom seen by the public. Among them: a gelatin silver print of Princess Elizabeth at 5 weeks, looking rather serious in her christening gown. Another striking image, of little "Lilibet" being held by her grandmother Queen Mary in 1927, hints that even as a toddler she had the stoicism of a leader. But there is also a mischievous sparkle behind her eyes--a motif that recurs throughout the exhibit. There are, of course, more formal portraits too, like Cecil Beaton's official 1953 coronation pictures, as well as numerous shots of Elizabeth on duty as monarch, on a walkabout during a state visit to Berlin in 2000 and visiting Iceland's hot springs in 1990.

But there are also more casual photographs that allude to a woman who enjoys a good laugh, and lets her guard down when "off duty." In 1943 a teenage Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, appeared in a Christmas pantomime of "Aladdin"--and, as a series of five photographs makes clear, immensely enjoyed dressing up in their costumes of embroidered jackets and puffy ...