queen portrait© Photo: Getty Images

The Queen wows in sapphire tiara and wedding jewellery for rare official portrait

The monarch last visited Canada in 2010

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
October 16, 2020

A new official portrait of the Queen was released by the Canadian Government on Friday, the day after the 94-year-old monarch carried out her first engagement outside a royal residence in seven months.

The striking portrait, which was taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson at Windsor Castle in March 2019, shows Her Majesty wearing a white embroidered dress with her Canadian insignia, as Sovereign of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military Merit.

READ: The Queen's most glittering tiaras in her personal jewellery collection

WATCH: The Queen and Prince William reunited in public 

The Queen also wears glittering diamond and blue sapphire jewels from the King George VI Victorian Suite, including a necklace and earrings that were given to Elizabeth as a wedding present from her father King George VI in 1947.

The tiara was commissioned in 1963 by Her Majesty to match the set.

The new portrait of the Queen

In an Instagram post, Mr Jackson said: "It was an incredible honour to have the opportunity to photograph HM Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Canadian Government for her official Canadian Portrait that has been released today.

"I've been lucky enough to have visited Canada many times now with members of the royal family and have the fondest memories of the people I've met and the incredible, vast and beautiful country that I've been privileged to get to know a small part of over the years."

MORE: The rare moment the Queen surprised us by wearing black in public

© Photo: Getty Images

The Queen wearing the sapphire jewels in 1996

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh carried out their most recent visit to Canada in 2010, but in recent years the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have all visited the nation on official trips.

Prince Harry also made his public debut with then-girlfriend Meghan Markle during the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017.

Renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz captured the Queen for her 90th birthday portraits in 2016, which included one of the monarch surrounded by her great-grandchildren, another with her beloved corgis and a third with her daughter Princess Anne.

Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity, royal and lifestyle news delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up to HELLO! Daily for all the latest and best royal coverage

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Royalty

See more