A new portrait of The Queen has been unveiled by Her Majesty in a ceremony at Windsor Castle to celebrate her six decades’ patronage of the British Red Cross. The portrait was painted by the artist Henry Ward, following a sitting at the royal residence last year.

The new portrait contains imagery which highlights the long-standing relationship between the Royal Family and the Red Cross, whose first royal patron was Queen Victoria. It includes a bust of Henry Dunant, who founded the Red Cross, and the jewels of Queen Alexandra, who signed the petition for the granting of the British Red Cross Royal Charter before the petition was presented to her husband King Edward VII.

Henry Ward was chosen by the Red Cross because of his support of the charity. Henry said:

“As a long-standing supporter of the British Red Cross it has been an honour to paint The Queen to celebrate six decades’ of her patronage.

“To portray Her Majesty as monarch and as patron of the Red Cross I have included imagery that relates to the history of the relationship. I have also been influenced by previous Royal portraitists such as Anthony van Dyck and Sir Joshua Reynolds.”