The official artist for the coronation of the late Queen told his son she was a nightmare to capture on canvas – because she was such a chatterbox.
The revelation comes in a special episode of Antiques Roadshow on BBC One tonight, marking what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday on Tuesday.
Host Fiona Bruce and her team meet a selection of people with special memorabilia and memories about Her Majesty, who died aged 96 in September 2022.
One such guest is Andrew Viner whose late grandfather was prolific English painter Terence Cuneo, who passed away in 1996 aged 88.
Despite being noted for his pictures of railways, horses and military scenes, he was commissioned to do a portrait of the Queen at her coronation at Westminster Abbey in June 1953.
Viewers will tonight see Andrew display some early sketches Terence did of her.
And he reveals she proved something of a headache to paint, as she would not sit still.
He says: “The first time he painted the late Queen was for a Lloyds’ commission. It was for the laying of the foundation stone for the new Lloyds’ building.
“I did ask him once, ’what was the Queen like as a sitter?’ and he said, ‘terrible, because she just talked!’
“When I posed for him I would get bored and if I said anything I was told to ‘dry up’, but I don’t imagine he did that with the Queen.”
Terence’s huge coronation portrait, which measures 11ft by 8ft, now hangs proudly in Buckingham Palace.
Andrew adds: “It took him a year to complete and it was presented to the Queen at Lancaster House by the Lord Lieutenants at a dinner which my grandfather attended. It went down very well.”
Other guests on the BBC show filmed at Windsor Castle include Lord Carnarvon whose father – nicknamed Porchie – was the Queen’s racing manager.
The royal was his godmother and he says she never forgot presents for his birthday or Christmas, showing off some E II R engraved cufflinks and a camera she gave him.
Lord Carnarvon adds: “It was privilege to know her even in a small way.”
*Antiques Roadshow Remembering Queen Elizabeth II airs tonight on BBC One at 8pm.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
