Informal show of royal portraits

Sitting on the grass the Queen and Prince Philip look like any other couple taking time out on holiday.

This never-before-published photograph shows the royal couple relaxing in the Highlands on the last ever Western Isles cruise in 1996.

The Queen and Philip liked it so much that she decided to use it for the cover of her Christmas card that year, sent out to family friends and senior staff.

The collection of 49 informal and private pictures - dating from her accession in 1952 - is going on display at Sandringham, her Norfolk estate, to mark the Golden Jubilee.

Gill Pattison, at the Queen's Sandringham Estate Office, whose idea it was to display them, said: "This is the Queen and the royal family as people have never seen them before. Many of the pictures show members of the royal family in their private homes, and are therefore very relaxed. Some of the more informal pictures have been taken by members of staff or family who just happened to be there.

Ms Pattison added: "We were hoping to come up with a different idea for the Golden Jubilee exhibition at Sandringham and I think this works. The Queen has given her full co-operation."

The photographs chronicle the Queen's life during her 50-year reign. Ms Pattison said: "There are certainly a few changes, as far as the fashion."

In the Fifties the Queen and Philip are pictured on the deck of the now decommisioned Royal Yacht Britannia, with their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Significantly, Philip has his arm on the shoulder of Anne but there is no contact with the Queen and Charles, who complained about his upbringing in the Dimbleby biography.

Britannia is again the setting for the happy family picture used in 1969. It shows the Queen and Philip surrounded by all of their children beside a speed boat on the deck of the Royal Yacht.

Five years later the Prince of Wales is absent from the family Christmas card, probably because he was away serving in the Royal Navy, but Princess Anne shows off the fashion of the age - wearing a denim shirt and scarf walking through the grounds of Frogmore, Windsor.

The Eighties - the decade of much royal change with the arrival of Princess Diana and Fergie - shows another informal snap of the royals aboard Britannia in 1983. Other cards include an official visit to Berlin in 2000 and a 2001 card - not available to publish but to be featured in the show.

? The Queen's Golden Jubilee Christmas Card exhibition, at Sandringham House, runs until 27 October.