Of the many glorious images of Queen Elizabeth II that we could use, it seemed fitting to select this 1981 portrait by artist June Mendoza OBE (pictured), commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to commemorate the centenary of its royal charter.
Mendoza told us at the time of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee how she had only six one-hour sessions to capture one of the world’s most recognisable faces for this life-size painting – “barely enough time to cover the canvas”. Mendoza, who went on to paint Her Majesty several more times, remembered her as being full of conversation during the sittings.
Last respects on display
Tributes to Her Majesty have, quite rightly, been all around us during the official period of mourning – enabled by the modern day ubiquity of screens available to display suitable photographs and touching messages. Fitting memorials have become a regular sight on electronic billboards, the Sky home screen – even the ordering machines at McDonald’s restaurants. And, it seems, in estate agent windows. Plymouth-based Lang Town & Country Tweeted: “We’ve changed our window displays in our offices to show our respect to the late Her Majesty The Queen during this period of mourning.” Meanwhile, Diary spotted a similar example from west London’s Rolfe East (pictured above).
Recollections of the Queen
Of the many fond memories of the Queen shared on social media this week, Grosvenor’s Rachel Garstang caught Diary’s eye. “Many of those who know me will know well my love of sweets,” Garstang wrote on LinkedIn. “But just somehow I thought this lady was worth sharing one with. Despite the entirely bemused face… am sure she appreciated the thought!” We are quite sure she did. As Garstang notes, “Many people have small stories to share – and this is certainly my mum’s favourite. But more seriously – about a third of us Brits have met the Queen – testament to her service to us over her 70-year reign.” Very well said. During a recent interview with EG, renowned restaurant agent David Coffer also recalled how he met the Queen twice – once as creator of the RICS property quiz for charity LionHeart, when she visited its newly renovated HQ in 2018, and once as a patron of the Zoological Society of London, when she opened London Zoo’s Asiatic lion enclosure. Given Coffer’s legendary negotiating skills, Diary was surprised a new restaurant didn’t appear in a wing of Buckingham Palace immediately after those encounters. Nonetheless, he recounted them as “moments of great pride” in his life and career. Alas, Diary cannot claim any personal interaction with Her Majesty, though we did once come close. Despite having the great honour of attending one of the Queen’s garden parties, we missed her entirely… while queuing for a sandwich. And it wasn’t even a marmalade one.
