Aussie artist recalls 'extraordinary' hour with the Queen

Australian artist Ralph Heimans has shared details of the "Extraordinary" hour he got to sit down with the Queen to paint her portrait.

Heimans was selected to paint the only official portrait of the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee, an experience he described as very "intense".

"It was an ambitious project to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee and I consider myself very lucky I got to prepare this large-scale portrait," Heimans told Today.

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At 2.5 x 3.5 metres in size, it is the largest official portrait of the Queen and took six months to paint.

It is now hanging permanently in Westminster Abbey after being unveiled for a local audience at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.

Heimans said because this was going to be the official Diamond Jubilee portrait, it had to say something about the act of coronation, something that has returned to relevance with King Charles III now the new ruler of the British Monarchy.

"It has strong resonance because it is about the passing of the Crown from one monarch to the next," Heimans said.

"It's about that moment, the burden of office, the oath she took on the very day of her coronation, which has stayed with her and has defined her."

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Heimans shared details of the time he got to spend with the Queen to prepare the project.

"Obviously I was terribly nervous and the Queen was wearing the rope of state as depicted in the painting, and a stunning state dress," he said.

"It was theatrical, impressive and terrifying for a young artist given this opportunity, but it was amazing.

"When she approached the long corridor of Buckingham Palace and she finally reached me, I was struck by her and being in her physical presence was something you cannot prepare for."

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He said Her Majesty realised how important the portrait was and she was involved in every stage of the preparation.

"It was an important milestone so she was involved in every decision in terms of what she would wear, so her participation in everything I think she does was really quite involved," he said.

Heimans said the Queen had just returned from a trip to Australia and she was excited about the portrait being displayed Down Under.

"It was the positivity of the Australian trip, it was literally only a few weeks after she had come back and she was very happy that this painting would be in Australia, unveiled there," he said.

Watch the full interview with Ralph Heimans above

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