The painting was commissioned by the Commonwealth in celebration of her Golden Jubilee.

The monarch's full-length, vibrantly coloured likeness was unveiled by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon at the Commonwealth Secretariat, at Marlborough House in London.

The Queen, dressed in royal blue, is depicted standing against a backdrop of images from Commonwealth nations - Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Taj Mahal in India, the Houses of Parliament in London, Montego Bay in Jamaica and a totem pole from British Columbia in Canada.

The portrait will tour the UK Enlarge image

The Nigerian-born artist, Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy, lives in Suffolk.

"The Queen is a great communicator," she said. "She's observant, humorous, interesting and generous with her time.

"I hope I have succeeded in capturing some of these qualities in my painting."

The Queen's golden jubilee has also been celebrated through photographic art.

A special photo exhibition in Windsor castle opened to the public last month.

It displays the work of photographers from Britain and the Commonwealth who were invited to take photographs of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during October to December 2001.