Why Was This Photo Of A Teenage Queen Elizabeth II Kept Hidden For 77 Years?

Even royalty can have a #throwback moment. A rare photograph of Queen Elizabeth II has surfaced some 77 years after it was taken. People reports that the black-and-white photo was presented to Prince Charles by the Send a Cow charity in Bath, England. The image was taken in 1939 by Canadian photographer Lawrence Audrain. The Queen was just a 13-year-old princess at the time. Her mother, the Queen Mum, reportedly found the portrait to be too "informal" and chose to use other photos from the shoot instead. Audrain kept the image in his attic, eventually passing it on to his daughter, who then gifted it to Send a Cow chief executive Simon Barnes. It is now back with the royal family following Prince Charles' visit. "I'll see if Mama remembers it, and remembers what she was wearing when it was taken," the heir apparent said of the striking portrait. Clarence House also shared the photo on its Instagram feed. It's not quite the #TBT material we're used to seeing, but it'll do.