An Appointment with her Majesty
One day in 2005 I had a call from Tina Fletcher, the series producer on Rolf on Art with an amazing idea – would I like to paint a portrait of the Queen to mark her 80th birthday? The BBC would film the sittings. I was game, of course, and Tina said she would talk to the Palace. Turned out they were thrilled too.
On the day of the first sitting we all had to arrive before 11 a.m. so we could get into the Palace before the Changing of the Guard. The sitting was set for 2.30pm and as you can imagine, the butterflies in the stomach started to proliferate. Suppose I can’t get a likeness? What if she asks me something and I can’t think of an answer? But when the Queen arrived she immediately put us all at our ease. I told her how I was there in Hyde Park on Coronation Day – how I’d waited out all night in the crowd with a blanket, playing my accordion. It was cold and wet, but I said that when I saw her in the Golden Coach it was as if the sun had come out. She said, ‘Yes, it was very cold I recall.’ There we were – the Queen and I, chatting away like old mates.
On her way out of the second sitting she told me ‘It’s a very friendly painting,’ which I took as a compliment. She’s had over 200 official portraits painted and she never usually comments. I finished the painting in my studio at home and it took about two months to complete. I wanted to capture the lady herself and her warm personality rather than do a formal portrait, full of pomp and splendour, and I think I’ve achieved that. I unveiled the portrait on 24 November 2006 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, where it was on display for a couple of months.
