The Crown Featuring Former Prime Ministers Sir John Major & Sir Tony Blair

Tobias Menzies (The Crown Prince Philip)- (Los Angeles, New York & London Portrait Photographer Rory Lewis.

Since its release on the 9th of November The Crown has been the centre of all the headlines. I’m no stranger to working with several of the Actors featured in the series including Tobias Menzies; who played The Duke of Edinburgh in season 3 & 4. The show now entering the 1990’s has introduced Prime Minsters Sir John Major played by Jonny Lee Miller & Sir Tony Blair played by Bertie Carvel.

Both leaders photographed by myself; it was fascinating to see their Prime Ministerial careers depicted. One of my aims as a portrait photographer is to record the figures of our time, and these Prime Ministerial sittings certainly represent living history.

Sir John Major served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, describing his portrayal in The Crown as a “barrel-load of nonsense”. At the time I’m writing this blog post, I have captured a total of four British Prime Ministers. Sir John the first Prime Minster of my career.

Sir John Major Portrait Photographer Rory Lewis, (London, Los Angeles & New York) 2022

To prepare for my sitting, I began by studying Sir John’s portrait sitting with Yousuf Karsh, before watching his interviews and parliamentary debates on Youtube. I also read Sir John’s Autobiography which offered the best source of his character and career as Prime Minister.

Preparation complete, my plan was to capture Sir John as the elder statesman, thoughtful and reflective. The sitting took place on 21st July 2017 at the Carlton Club in London. Sir John arrived with several protection officers and his Private Secretary. The photoshoot began to feel like the set of a James Bond movie. We spent some time speaking about cricket and his career. When it came time to capture the portrait, Sir John looked back in reflection.

Sir Tony Blair Portrait Photographer Rory Lewis, (London, Los Angeles & New York) 2022

Tony Blair served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Similarly to Sir John Major’s portrait sitting, my process is research. Skimming through Blair’s Autobiography and watching old Parliamentary debates on Youtube. Research enables me to gain insight into my sitters, their profile, character and even hobbies. This helps when speaking and engaging with prominent subjects.

Sittings like these don’t last more than 20 minutes. It is important to break the ice and develop an understanding of my subjects prior to any session.

Upon arrival at Sir Tony’s office at The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London, I setup my equipment in preparation for the photoshoot. Sir Tony arrived walking down the stairs, he knows how to enter a room, almost like a rock star about to perform. The sitting though brief was memorable, we spoke about his current projects, then proceeded to capture the portrait.

What followed a series of thoughtful and reflective portraits, it is important to a historian to capture subjects, especially political leaders in a neutral fashion. No good, no bad, no joy, no happiness. This enables the viewer to come to their own conclusions. On top of this, I’m a realist so I like to capture everything – the grey hairs, blotchy skin, all the details and lines. Portraits like these will be treated as historical sources in times to come.

The Crown has certainly brought back memories for all of the series viewers, for me as historian and photographer it is delightful to see those historic figures I have captured portrayed.