Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton, a Polish artist, painted the only portrait of the British Queen Elizabeth II for the Platinum Jubilee of the monarch. The 70th anniversary of the Queen’s reign was celebrated in the UK very solemnly and lasted for 4 days.

A portrait painter who has lived and worked in London for several decades was invited to Windsor Castle. Barbara Hamilton told the portal “British Poles” that she was received there very warmly. The dresser presented her with numerous queen dresses with accessories, including famous brooches. The painter chose a beautiful pink dress in which the queen looked great.

Elizabeth II is 96 years old and is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She ascended the throne in February 1952 after the death of her father, George VI. She was crowned on June 2, 1952.

“The Queen turned out to be a very warm, cheerful and… talkative person. The conversation was mostly about art. Queen was happy to be painted by a Polish artist”, reported Hamilton.

Barbara Hamilton completed the portrait in her London studio in South Kensington. The Queen had already seen the finished portrait in the photo and wished it to be hung in Windsor Castle. She liked it enormously. The picture arrived at the castle exactly for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton comes from Sopot, and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, she came to London as a young artist. Today she is said to be “the unofficial portraitist of the English royal family”, because she painted many Windsor officials.

The first person portrayed from the royal family was Prince Michael. The painting was so popular that more orders appeared. The most important one so far was the portrait of the Queen mother, which is hung at the Sikorski Institute in London. The artist also painted the Duke of Kent, Princess Anne, and the Duchess of York (Fergie) with their daughters.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński