Queen cuddles Princess Charlotte as she poses with Royal youngsters, daughter Anne and her beloved corgis in three poignant portraits to mark her 90th birthday today

Taken by renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz at Windsor Castle last month, these remarkable pictures - which, in their lighting and composition, echo the great royal oil paintings of the past - have been released by Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen's 90th birthday today. 

They are portraits not only of a monarch, but of a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother too. It was, said one who was involved in the process, a deliberate decision by the sovereign. For as much as this day has become a national celebration, it is also very much a family event too. After all, Elizabeth is a proud great-grandmother five times over. (Main image pictured left to right: James, Viscount Severn, Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, Mia Tindall, the Queen, Princess Charlotte, Savannah Phillips, Prince George and Isla Phillips.)