Queen’s handbag gets monarch unveils new

ITS contents have prompted endless speculation – and now the Queen’s handbag has a starring role in the latest portrait of the monarch which was unveiled yesterday.

A black Launer handbag takes pride of place in the portrait by artist Benjamin Sullivan which Her Majesty saw for the first time when she visited the RAF Club in London to mark its centenary.

The artist was there to see the club’s president Air Marshal Sir David Walker unveil the painting in front of the 92-year-old monarch.

He said he had given the handbag a prominent place in the picture to add a sense of informality to the stately grandeur.

Mr Sullivan said: “I really like the idea that her handbag was placed in

GLASSES, MINTS AND A

THE Queen is said to own more than 200 handbags – and is reported to use the accessory to send signals to her staff.

Royal insiders claim if she places her bag on a dinner table, she wants the event to end within five minutes. Putting it on the floor means she wants to be front of the gilt chair. It was almost happenstance that it was placed there.

“It’s where she put it and I thought I could take it out but then I thought it’s actually quite a nice thing, a personal thing.”

His portrait, showing the Queen in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, seeks to capture her in a