During Leibovitz photo shoot, the Queen was not amused

"The Queen came down the hall, and she looked a little perturbed. I knew something was up."

Photographer Annie Leibovitz spoke vividly of her session with Queen Elizabeth II as the royal pictures and dozens of others went on show at London's National Portrait Gallery ("Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005").

The photographer recalled the Queen's restlessness at having to pose in full regalia for the Vanity Fair magazine spread last year.

The shoot sparked controversy when the BBC, in a documentary trailer, implied that the Queen had stormed out of the session; the BBC later apologized and said events were "misrepresented."

"The thing that the BBC missed completely was: She was storming into the shoot!" Leibovitz said with a chuckle.

The exhibition gathers more than 150 photographs, a mix of assignment shots for Vanity Fair - of actors such as Demi Moore and Brad Pitt - and private views of Leibovitz's family members and late partner, the author Susan Sontag.

In the four royal portraits, which open the show, the Queen seems caught off guard by Leibovitz's lens. She scarcely smiles.

Seated in a pale-yellow brocaded gown, the monarch casts a hard glance at the other side of the room, or gazes out of the window in her diadem. Elsewhere, she stands against angry skies in a blue gold-buttoned cape - a photomontage, as the sovereign would not be pictured in formal gowns outside.

At a press view Wednesday, Leibovitz, wearing a black V-neck and black pants, told the media swarm how incredulous she was when a call came through from Buckingham Palace: The Queen wanted to be photographed before her first state visit to the United States in 16 years.

Delighted, Leibovitz suggested a series of settings, all of which were turned down. Balmoral Castle was rejected, as was an equestrian theme.

"I wondered if she could get on the horse, ride through the woods, dismount the horse in the woods for the picture, and then go back," said Leibovitz. "They said no: Once the Queen is on the horse, she comes right back to the stable. She doesn't get off the horse."

So Leibovitz settled for Buckingham Palace, and asked that the Queen wear her weighty train and tiara. According to Leibovitz, the Queen was "frustrated," 20 minutes late, and said going in, "I don't have much time."

Leibovitz, who had planned the session initially without the tiara, was surprised to see the monarch already wearing it. As diplomatically as she could, she asked for it to be removed, explaining, "It's a little too dressy." Pointing to her heavy gown, the Queen replied, "Well, what do you think this is?"

"I thought she was really being funny," Leibovitz recalled. "I thought, 'This is dry humor.' Of course, I didn't know I was really in trouble."

In the end, the Queen cooperated fully with the photographer, sitting for her patiently.

"She had this resolve, and she did not stop until I said 'Thank you very much,' " said Leibovitz. "She does her duty."

"Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005" runs through Feb. 1.