Illustrated London News (ILN), the content and digital agency, has unveiled a new portrait of Her Majesty The Queen to mark the occasion of her becoming Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Painted in oils, it depicts The Queen in the robes
of the Order of the Garter, attending the Garter Ceremony at Windsor Castle in June 2015. The portrait is published on
4 September in The Illustrated Record Reign, the magazine, and on 7 September in the limited-edition book set The Record Reign. Further details can be found on www.recordreign.com.

The new portrait was commissioned by Illustrated London News Ltd (ILN) with support from The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) and the Royal Warrant Holders Association. The artist is Alastair Barford, a talented British portrait artist, and a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust and Leverhulme scholar. He has recently completed his scholarship at the renowned atelier of artist Charles H Cecil in Florence. A donation is made to QEST, the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, for every copy of The Record Reign sold.

Lisa Barnard, Chief Executive of ILN, commented: “We are proud to publish this splendid new portrait in our Record Reign publications. This is a historic tradition for ILN as we have commissioned a portrait of every monarch since launching in 1842 as the world’s first illustrated newspaper. In 1953, ILN celebrated Elizabeth II’s Coronation with a beautiful portrait of the young Queen wearing the Garter Star and Riband, painted by the renowned ILN artist Terence Cuneo. The Order of the Garter is the highest order of chivalry, so this was a fitting occasion to depict Her Majesty in a dynamic new painting. It echoes Pietro Annigoni’s 1953 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Order of the Garter robes. We are very pleased to showcase a rising young artist, Alastair Barford, who is supremely talented, and to support British craftsmanship in so doing.”

In 1897, ILN paid tribute to Queen Victoria’s era-defining monarchy with The Record Number of a Record Reign. The spectacular, ornate publication commemorated Victoria’s reign and the accomplishments of Victorian Britain. It featured an etching of a special portrait of Queen Victoria during her stay at Nice in the South of France, which was signed by The Queen and executed by ILN artist Amédée Forestier, who travelled to Nice as ILN’s Royal Correspondent and sent back a series of exclusive images of Queen Victoria and her family to an eager British public. Alastair Barford has created an additional charcoal sketch of Queen Elizabeth to accompany the Forestier portrait and they are published together in
ILN’s new Record Reign publications. The book set includes an exact reproduction of the 1897 edition alongside a new companion volume: The Record Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, a glorious record of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, celebrating her life and developments in Britain over the past 63 years.

Limited-edition prints of the portrait, signed by the artist, are available to order on the website www.recordreign.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS

ILN’s limited-edition book set, The Record Reign, commemorates the moment on 9 September, when Queen Elizabeth II overtakes her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, as longest-reigning British monarch. Written by ILN historians and other high-profile contributors, it includes a foreword by Prime Minister David Cameron. It is presented as a collector’s book set in an exquisitely crafted slipcase, A3, hard back, clothbound, gold-foiled, gilt-edged and printed on superb paper. The two-volume book set is priced at £295, with a print run of only 1,000 copies.  It will be presented to Her Majesty The Queen to mark this historic milestone. ILN, in collaboration with Haymarket Media, also publishes a softback “bookazine”, The Illustrated Record Reign available from the newsstands and WH Smith priced £6.99. www.recordreign.com

Attachments:  ILN’s new portrait by Alastair Barford; the original 1897 portrait of Queen Victoria by Amédée Forestier together with a sketch of Queen Elizabeth II by Alastair Barford ; ILN’s 1953 Coronation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Terence Cuneo; Pietro Annigoni’s famous 1953 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Order of the Garter robes.

Contact Lisa Barnard, Chief Executive, ILN , [email protected] . Tel: + 44 (0)20 7426 1011, + 44  (0)7887 823116

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