Queen Elizabeth's portrait

Apr 27, 2010, 12:13 GMT

A portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth by the youngest royal artist has gone on display.

The painting of the monarch - who posed for three sittings over an 18-month-period for Rupert Alexander - was put on show at her Buckingham Palace residence yesterday (26.04.10).

The picture is a dramatic change from many of the official paintings of 84-year-old Elizabeth as it shows her in more subdued colours and without her royal regalia.

Rupert, 35, explained: "I painted oil sketches to record the tone and colour and to experiment with various gestures to find what best expressed those elements of her character I was trying to capture.

"I decided to limit the portrait to head and shoulders as I wanted to focus on the more human and intimate aspects of her character, rather than cluttering the painting with the formal symbols of her public role."

Rupert admitted the portrait had become a labour of love because the queen's hectic schedule meant an initial four month deadline had to be extended to a year and a half.

A spokesman for the artist told the Daily Mail newspaper: "There were three sittings scheduled with the queen. Each one was meant to be within a couple of months of each other. But because Her Majesty's diary was so full there was a year's gap between the second and final sitting. As a result it took Rupert about 18 months to finish the painting."

Rupert first painted the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 23, making him the youngest artist to paint the royal family since the 17th century.