Terry O'Neill: British photographer to the stars dies aged 81

British photographer Terry O'Neill poses in front of his work "Nelson Mandela at 90" in 2009

British photographer Terry O'Neill, whose work captured iconic images of London's Swinging Sixties, has died.

O'Neill, 81, had prostate cancer and died at home on Saturday night after a long illness, his agency said.

He photographed celebrities - including The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Elton John and the Queen - and received a CBE last month for services to photography.

BBC Arts Correspondent David Sillito said O'Neil's work helped to define the Swinging Sixties.

Born in London, O'Neill left school with hopes of becoming a jazz drummer, but ended up working in a photographic unit at London's Heathrow Airport.

It was there that he captured then Home Secretary Rab Butler, immaculately dressed and asleep on a bench.

The image helped O'Neill land a job as a newspaper photographer on Fleet Street, where he was assigned to capture the portrait of a new band - The Beatles.

O'Neill photographed The Beatles in the backyard of the Abbey Road Studios in London - it was one of their first professionally-taken portraits and helped make the photographer famous in his own right

After receiving his CBE at Buckingham Palace, Mr O'Neill said the award "surpasses anything I've had happen to me in my life".

He photographed the Queen twice. In 2001 he revealed on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs how he had got her to smile during the second photo shoot in 1992 - a year described by the Queen as an "annus horribilis" - by telling a horse-racing joke.

"The second time was great," he said. "It was in a bad year, as she put it. And I just got her to laugh because I noticed the first time when she laughed, she made a great picture."

Sir Elton John, whom O'Neill photographed on numerous occasions, was among those to pay tribute to the photographer on Twitter, saying: "He was brilliant, funny and I absolutely loved his company".

Comedian and children's author David Walliams called O'Neill "a huge talent and an absolute gentleman" and said his death was the "end of an era".

Elton John described O'Neill as "brilliant and funny"

Iconic Images, the agency which represents O'Neill's work, said he was "a class act, quick-witted and filled with charm".

A spokesman added: "Anyone who was lucky enough to know or work with him can attest to his generosity and modesty.

"As one of the most iconic photographers of the last 60 years, his legendary pictures will forever remain imprinted in our memories as well as in our hearts."

O'Neill captured this image of US actress Faye Dunaway the day after she collected her Academy Award for Best Actress in Network in 1977 - the pair would marry six years later

This arresting image of David Bowie helped promote the singer's 1974 album Diamond Dogs

O'Neill said that he told a horse racing joke to the Queen to induce this smile in this portrait taken in 1992, the second time he had photographed her

The Rolling Stones outside the Tin Pan Alley Club in London in 1963

Singer Amy Winehouse poses for a shoot during a concert honouring Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday in Hyde Park, London

Actor Roger Moore as James Bond with Live and Let Die co-stars Gloria Hendry (left) and Jane Seymour in 1973

Singer Frank Sinatra with his minders and his stand-in (who is wearing an identical outfit to him), arriving at Miami Beach while filming The Lady in Cement

British model Twiggy was among the famous faces of London's Swinging Sixties who was photographed by O'Neill

Terry O"Neill photographs Laura Bush at the White House in 2001

Terry O'Neill (1938 - 2019)