A punk portrait of the Queen has been found in a Lake District gallery.
Artist Mark Sloper created an image of Her Majesty with blue hair, a nose ring and a love heart tattoo which read Philip in 2020.
The Queen, who was 94 at the time, thought the portrait was hilarious, but asked the artist, who exhibits under the name Illuminati, to change the tattoo to her crest.
She asked for the original pieces to be removed from circulation but now one of the original pieces has been found at Windermere Fine Art Gallery.
Owner Dawn Titherington was unpacking eight original pieces by the artist when she discovered it.
She said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found the original artwork with the Philip tattoo as I thought they are all owned either by the Royal family or private collectors around the world. This is an amazing chance to see something so rare and I can’t believe it turned up in our delivery.”
The artist said: “I must have included the piece along with a number of others that were officially approved by the Royal Family when I was clearing out my studio.
“It is one of only a handful that still remain in public as I was asked to not produce any more with the Philip tattoo. I would rather that people could see it and enjoy it rather than having to recycle it as it has such a special story behind it.
“The Queen herself thought that it was a ‘hoot’ but asked for the tattoo to be changed, which of course I did.”
People who own some of the original Queen pieces include Michael Buble, Akon, Lord Vaizey, Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Boy George and John McEnroe.
Windermere Fine Art Gallery also has another rare piece of Royal art from Illuminati on display. This is a Queen in Residence flag from the 1890s which has a neon sign added.
Mark added: “The Queen in Residence flags are originals from all around the world and there are no more available from 1870-1910 when they were made using silk or other fine materials and hand stitched.
“The Royal Family never gave them away, but I believe that members of staff would take one when they left and that’s how they came into the public sphere. I think there is something of a punk attitude to these flags which goes perfectly with my work.”
