Royal Watch News

Queen Elizabeth wowed by giant portrait

Jun 7, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Queen Elizabeth

Britain's Queen Elizabeth was wowed by a giant portrait of herself yesterday (06.06.12).

The British monarch - who has just celebrated her Diamond Jubilee - was presented with the six ft two inch portrait of herself, painted by Canadian artist Phil Richards, in the White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, by Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

After taking the portrait in, the queen turned to the artist and said: 'It's changed quite a bit since I last saw it.'

He replied: 'Yes. It went from six inches to this!'

This exchange drew a laugh from all who were gathered.

The painting shows the queen standing in front of an arched doorway in Rideau Hall in Ottawa, her official residence in Canada.

In the painting, she wears a white dress with a chiffon skirt and beaded bodice and carries white satin gloves in her hand. Behind her can be seen a portrait of her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

The portrait took Richards two years to paint and is based on a series of photographs of the monarch taken during her 2010 royal tour of Canada.