Here is Queen Elizabeth Looking at Babies

At some point in the next few days, Kate Middleton will have her second child. In honor of this happy event, here are some pictures of great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II looking at babies. Because when you’re a largely ceremonial figure, you spend a fair bit of time staring at babies.

Here she is getting friendly with a baby in a strangely chartreuse room:

Looking very pleased with these babies:

Though this baby doesn’t look impressed with her. Is this an anti-monarchist baby?

The tiniest of babies:

Sometimes she accepts flowers from babies:

Sometimes she accepts flowers from easily embarrassed children:

She’s been accepting those flowers for decades, of course. From 1949:

And in 1976. Those flowers are from New York City mayor Abe Beame’s granddaughter:

Meeting triplets in Bermuda, not long after her coronation:

This baby in Italy, 1961, had a Union Jack to wave with his tiny arms:

Meeting a baby in Washington, D.C., in the company of first lady Laura Bush:

Oddly, the closest I could get to a photo of Elizabeth and George (besides the official christening portrait, of course) was this. Come on, Bitsy, turn around and give us a thumbs-up: