On September 8th, 2022, the United Kingdom lost its longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. As the nation absorbed the news, photographer Paul Harrison found himself at the heart of history. “Rumours were circulating throughout the day, so I dropped everything and headed straight to Buckingham Palace with my camera to find concerned crowds, black-clad broadcast journalists and heavy rain,” Paul shared with Bored Panda. “She died later that day and I barely stopped shooting for the next 12 days, leading up to the funeral.”
For Harrison, a London street photographer of five years, the challenge was not just to document the events unfolding before him, but to capture the feeling of those extraordinary days. “I was in real time trying to work out how to document what was potentially the biggest news story in the world, whilst also trying to stay true to my roots as a street photographer,” he explained. His lens turned not only to the scenes around Buckingham Palace, but to the atmosphere of collective mourning – a moment that felt both deeply personal and nationally historic. As he reflected, “Was the mourning all for her, or for something that ran deeper?”
Now, on the third anniversary of the Queen’s passing, Harrison is honoring that moment through a dedicated zine release. Scroll down to discover a selection of his powerful photographs from the series, and don’t miss the chance to explore the full collection in his newly released publication.
More info: Instagram | thepaulharrison.co.uk
