A royal photographer shares his thoughts on Queen's 'beautiful skin' and a 'girlish' personality

A photographer once reportedly broke huge royal protocol with scandalous remark to the Queen, but she did not mind at all.

David Bailey, who previously photographed the Queen and Princess Diana, has said the monarch has “beautiful skin” and a “girlish” personality.

 The photographer also recalled a  photoshoot with the late Princess of Wales, remarking that she had “terrible hair” due to an overload of hairspray which had left her blonde bob “solid as a plastic dummy”.

In an interview with The Telegraph on Tuesday, Bailey also revealed that his assistant had accidentally dropped a light on Diana’s head during the shoot.

The photographer said he had asked the Queen if “the jewels” were real. In the birthday portrait, the monarch wears her signature pearl necklace and a matching brooch.

“I said: ‘I bet that cost a few bob, girl’,” Bailey said. When asked if he had really called Her Majesty “girl”, he said she was “girlish”.

“It just came out. I call everyone ‘girl’. But she was girlish. Made a real effort. We had a laugh. Beautiful skin, the Queen.”

Bailey added that the Queen did not mind the nickname and that the pair "had a laugh".