1. Mère de la nation (Berceuse)
2. Maiestate
3. Three Queens in Mourning

Regina – Latin for "Queen" – is a three-movement suite; each movement depicts a distinct aspect of the unimaginable weight of a crown. The national anthem of each queen's nation is woven into their respective movements, though it has been modified in each instance.

Mother of the Nation

Perhaps history's most famous queen, Marie-Antoinette remains one of the most-maligned women in history. This famous portrait by Le Brun, an exercise in image rehabilitation, shows the Queen with her surviving children. An empty cradle poignantly memorializes the death of her youngest child, Madame Sophie. Her simple clothing, lack of grand jewels, and prominent placement of her offspring were an attempt to portray her as a devout mother and wife; her children were not merely her own, but enfants de France – children of France. The final section of this short lullaby is taken from a chanson written by the Queen herself.

Majesty

Marie of Edinburgh, considered as a potential bride for the future George V of England, rejected that idea and instead married the future Ferdinand I of Romania, trading one crown for another. Her vivacious spirit as a young crown princess inspired the tango theme of this movement; the uneasy transition she had from her native England to Romania is represented by the unceasing, unsteady chord structure found at the beginning and in its recapitulation. The Romanian royal anthem has been transformed into a pseudo-chant section in the middle of the piece, evoking the Eastern Orthodox religion of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

This portrait, by the artist Constantin Pascali, is my favorite portrait of all time; it's captivated me from the moment I first saw it. In it, Pascali has managed to capture not just the ethereal mysticism of a queen—above politics, above the common man, second only to God—but also the mystic quality that so many countries in eastern Europe possess in spades. Famously fond of theatrics, this portrait shows the Queen playing into her own idea of the ethereal quality of monarchy.

Three Queens in Mourning

One of the most poignant photographs ever taken, Three Queens in Mourning captures a unique moment in British history—the only time three queens were alive at the same time. In the photo, taken by Ron Case, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the new Queen Elizabeth II stand together in the February cold, dressed in deep mourning for the funeral of a son, husband, and father, King George VI. This movement was the first in this suite to be started and completed; the beginning and ending are a slight nod to Chopin and his famous funeral march (as well as Purcell and his music for Queen Anne's funeral), while the trio in the middle is a slow, dignified march to the tune of "God Save the King." The descending pedal line in the second instance of the tune is an imitation of change ringing, so common in the British Isles.

—Austin Ferguson