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C1 · Première and Terminale générales

Session 6. Portraits as power: from Gloriana to a Queen in colour

Tudor icons, a Victorian state portrait, a primrose-yellow investiture, and a wardrobe that was a portrait in itself.

Key question: How have queens used images, and colour, to make power visible?
55 minutes: Recap 5 min · Point du professeur 10 min · Document 8 min · Vocabulary 7 min · Grammar 12 min · Figures and idioms 6 min · Task 7 min
Recap · marked /3

What we already know

Quick quiz (one point each)

  1. Reproach: She didn't go at once. → She ______.
  2. Mixed conditional: If the Board (listen) ______, Aberfan (be) ______ different today.
  3. Meaning of "a stiff upper lip"?
Answers
  1. should have gone at once
  2. had listened, would be
  3. hiding one's emotions

1Le point du professeur10 min

Pour le professeur

Pour analyser des portraits qui traversent les siècles et une garde-robe qui a duré soixante-dix ans, les élèves ont besoin du present perfect simple et progressif (bilan, durée jusqu'à aujourd'hui) en opposition avec le prétérit (date passée). On part de : Monarchs have always used portraits. Elizabeth I was painted in 1588. On ajoute le lexique des couleurs et de la mode.

Starting point

Rulers have used portraits for centuries. Elizabeth I was painted with a globe in about 1588. Historians have been studying these images ever since.

Present perfect simple vs past simple

Present perfect continuous: duration and activity

Royal Museums Greenwich has been showing the portrait since its restoration. Fashion historians have been writing about her hats for decades.

Since / for / ever / yet / already / just

since 1588, for over four centuries; I have just discovered the four-leaf clover; Have you visited the Queen's House yet?

Help: present perfect = have/has + past participle, for a link with now. Past simple for a date.

2The document8 min

A. Painted power

Elizabeth I in a richly jewelled dress, her hand on a globe, with two sea scenes behind her
Unknown English artist, The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, about 1588. Oil on oak panel. Queen's House, Greenwich, Royal Museums Greenwich (version shown after its 2016 conservation). Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Elizabeth I in a white gown standing on a map of England, with storm clouds on one side and sunshine on the other
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Queen Elizabeth I (The Ditchley Portrait), about 1592. Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 2561). Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The young Queen Victoria seated on a throne in coronation robes, holding a sceptre
Sir George Hayter, Queen Victoria, 1863, replica by the artist of his state portrait of 1838. Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1250). Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons, from Art UK.

These images construct what historians call the mask of youth: an ageless, idealised Queen, very far from the truth Sutherland or Freud would later paint.

B. A Queen in colour

fuchsiacornflower bluelime greenprimrose and goldvioletjadecoral red

Elizabeth II was famous for bright, single-colour coats with matching hats. The reason was practical: she had to be seen. Her daughter-in-law Sophie, then Countess of Wessex, explained in the documentary The Queen at 90 (2016):

She needs to stand out for people to say, "I saw the Queen." Don't forget when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, sometimes 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queen's hat as she went past.Sophie, Countess of Wessex, The Queen at 90, 2016, as quoted by the i newspaper.

Little-known facts about the royal wardrobe. Each one is checked: follow the link.

C. Primrose yellow at Caernarfon, 1 July 1969

Prince Charles had been created Prince of Wales by Letters Patent in 1958; his investiture took place at Caernarfon Castle on 1 July 1969, watched by millions on television. It was not a coronation: there was no anointing and no crowning of a sovereign. The title already existed in law; the ceremony was symbolic. The Letters Patent were read in Welsh, and the Queen invested her son with the insignia: a sword, a coronet, a ring, a gold rod and a mantle. Charles knelt, placed his hands between hers and swore to be her "liege man of life and limb". (College of Arms; HistoryExtra)

The Queen wore a pale primrose-yellow silk crepe coat and matching tunic embroidered with pearls and bugle beads, and a hat by the French-born milliner Simone Mirman that covered the back of the head to the nape. The Royal Collection Trust says the hat "appears to have been inspired by Tudor prototypes" (Royal Collection Trust). The coat was designed by Norman Hartnell, who nicknamed the hat her "medieval helmet" (People).

Think about it. The Tudor dynasty had Welsh roots: Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle in Wales in 1457. Why might a Tudor-style hat be a clever choice at a Welsh ceremony?

The series tells the story in Season 3, Episode 6, "Tywysog Cymru" ("Prince of Wales" in Welsh). Charles really learned Welsh at Aberystwyth before the ceremony, but the episode's secret, defiant speech is invented.

Understanding the document

  1. In the Armada Portrait, what does the globe suggest?
  2. In the Ditchley Portrait, why does the Queen stand on a map?
  3. What is the "mask of youth"?
  4. Why did Elizabeth II wear bright colours, according to the Countess of Wessex?
  5. How did her couturier stop her skirts from blowing up in the wind?
  6. Why was the 1969 investiture not a coronation?
  7. Which insignia did the Queen present?
  8. How could the hat be read as a message?
Answers
  1. Power over the world and the seas, after the defeat of the Armada.
  2. To show that she rules and protects England; storm and sunshine suggest she brings peace after danger.
  3. The ageless, idealised face of official royal portraits.
  4. So that crowds could see her and say "I saw the Queen".
  5. Stewart Parvin sewed small lead curtain weights from Peter Jones into the hems of her dresses and coats.
  6. No anointing, no crowning of a sovereign; the title already existed by Letters Patent; the ceremony was symbolic.
  7. A sword, a coronet, a ring, a gold rod and a mantle.
  8. Tudor style, and the Tudors had Welsh roots: a nod to Wales at a Welsh ceremony.

3Building your vocabulary

Colour and fashion

WordMeaning
a hue, a shade, a tonea colour, a variety of a colour (a pale shade of yellow)
bold, vivid, bright / muted, pastelstrong colours / soft colours
eye-catching, strikingeasy to notice
to stand out, to blend into be very visible / to be hard to see
to clash, to match, to coordinateto look bad together / to look good together
a splash of coloura small bright area of colour
colour-blockingwearing one strong colour from head to toe
a milliner, millinerya hat maker; hats
a couturier, a dressera fashion designer; a person who looks after somebody's clothes
embroidered with, beadeddecorated with stitching, with beads

Painting and power

an allegory, a symbol, the regalia, the foreground, the background, to convey, to idealise, propaganda, a state portrait, the insignia, an investiture.

Exercise 1. Colour words

Complete with: clash, stand out, splash, shade, matching, muted.

  1. She chose a coat with a ______ hat.
  2. Bright colours helped her ______ in a crowd.
  3. Orange and pink can ______.
  4. Primrose is a pale ______ of yellow.
  5. Add a ______ of colour with a scarf.
  6. Beige, grey and taupe are ______ colours.
Answers
  1. matching
  2. stand out
  3. clash
  4. shade
  5. splash
  6. muted

Exercise 2. Describe an outfit

Put the words in the right order.

  1. hat / a / silk / yellow / pale
  2. coat / wool / blue / bright / a
  3. an / dress / embroidered / ivory
  4. green / hat / lime / a / matching
Answers
  1. a pale yellow silk hat
  2. a bright blue wool coat
  3. an embroidered ivory dress (ivory embroidered dress)
  4. a matching lime-green hat

4Grammar in practice

From recognition to open production.

RecognitionExercise 3. Present perfect or past simple?

Why is each form used?

  1. The portrait was painted in about 1588.
  2. The portrait has been restored.
  3. Fashion historians have been studying her wardrobe for years.
  4. She wore lime green in 2016.
Answers
  1. past simple: finished date
  2. present perfect: result visible now
  3. present perfect continuous: duration up to now
  4. past simple: finished time

Controlled practiceExercise 4. Choose the tense

Present perfect simple, continuous or past simple?

  1. The Royal Collection (show) ______ her dresses many times.
  2. In 1969 she (wear) ______ primrose yellow.
  3. Visitors (queue) ______ for hours to see the exhibition.
  4. I (never / see) ______ the Ditchley Portrait.
  5. Elizabeth I (rule) ______ for 44 years.
  6. Since 1588, the Armada Portrait (become) ______ an icon.
Answers
  1. has shown
  2. wore
  3. have been queuing (if still now) / queued (if finished)
  4. have never seen
  5. ruled
  6. has become

TransformationExercise 5. Rewrite

Use the words given.

  1. I started studying these portraits two weeks ago. (for)
  2. The last time I saw her hat was in 2016. (since)
  3. This is my first visit to Caernarfon. (never)
  4. They began restoring the portrait in 2016. (since)
Answers
  1. I have been studying these portraits for two weeks.
  2. I haven't seen her hat since 2016.
  3. I have never been to Caernarfon before.
  4. They have been restoring the portrait since 2016. (or: it has been restored since...)

AccuracyAccuracy check. Find the mistake

Each sentence contains one mistake. Find it and correct it.

  1. The Armada Portrait has been painted in about 1588.
  2. Monarchs use portraits for centuries.
  3. I study these portraits since September.
  4. How long do you know this painting?
  5. Elizabeth I has died in 1603.
  6. The museum has been showing the dresses three times this year.
Answers
  1. The Armada Portrait was painted in about 1588.
  2. Monarchs have used portraits for centuries.
  3. I have been studying these portraits since September.
  4. How long have you known this painting?
  5. Elizabeth I died in 1603.
  6. The museum has shown the dresses three times this year. (a number of times: simple form)

Open productionExercise 6. A wardrobe as a portrait

Write a 180-word museum label for one of her outfits (choose: the coronation dress 1953, primrose yellow 1969, lime green 2016). Use the present perfect simple and continuous, the past simple, five colour or fashion words and one colour idiom.

Help: "This dress has been shown...", "She wore it in...", "It has become...".

5Figures of speech

Exercise 7. Interpret

Explain each symbol in one sentence.

  1. A hand on a globe.
  2. Standing on a map.
  3. One bright colour from head to toe.
  4. A Tudor-style hat in Wales.
Answers
  1. Power over the world, especially the seas.
  2. Ruling and protecting the land.
  3. Being visible to everybody: a public role.
  4. A link with the Tudors' Welsh origins.

6Idioms

to show one's true colours
to reveal one's real character.
From ships that sailed under false flags (colours) and showed their real flag before attacking.
In a crisis people show their true colours.
a red-letter day
a very special, memorable day.
Feast days were marked in red in old church calendars.
1 July 1969 was a red-letter day for Caernarfon.
out of the blue
completely unexpectedly.
Like thunder from a clear blue sky.
The news came out of the blue.
green with envy
very jealous.
Shakespeare calls jealousy "the green-eyed monster" in Othello.
Other guests were green with envy at her hat.
in the pink
in very good health.
An old expression meaning "in the best condition".
At 90 she was still in the pink.
to see red
to become very angry.
Often linked to bulls and red capes, though bulls cannot see red.
He saw red when he saw his portrait.

Exercise 8. Colour idioms

Complete.

  1. My grandmother is ninety and still ______.
  2. When he read the review, he ______.
  3. The offer came completely ______.
  4. Her friends were ______ when she got the job.
  5. Graduation day is a ______.
  6. When things went wrong, he ______ and left.
Answers
  1. in the pink
  2. saw red
  3. out of the blue
  4. green with envy
  5. red-letter day
  6. showed his true colours

7Expression task7 min

Curator for a day. In groups, prepare a two-minute guided tour of one portrait (Armada, Ditchley, Hayter) or one outfit (1953, 1969, 2016). Include symbols, colours, one present perfect continuous and one colour idiom.

Exit ticket · formative check
  1. Present perfect or past: She (wear) ______ primrose yellow in 1969.
  2. A word meaning "to look bad together" (colours).
  3. Why was 1969 not a coronation?
Answers
  1. wore
  2. to clash
  3. No anointing, no crowning of a sovereign: Charles was invested as Prince of Wales.

C1+Going further (towards C2)

Fashion as diplomacy (C1+). The Queen often chose colours or emblems linked to the country she visited, as on her coronation dress. In 250 words, analyse clothes as a political language, using the present perfect, two sentence adverbs (arguably, notably) and three colour idioms. Compare with Elizabeth I's portraits.

HWHomework

Learn the colour and fashion vocabulary and the six colour idioms. Describe in 12 lines a photograph of the Queen you find online (give the link, do not copy the picture): colours, hat, occasion, message.