The royal residence has loaned the picture to the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in London for its annual show in May, where it will be one of seven pieces dedicated to the Queen.

The Queen sat for Michael Noakes in 1973

The exhibition at the society's central London Mall Galleries regularly features up to 200 portraits.

Many pieces are by celebrated artists and often have celebrities as their subject.

However, this year the society is making the special section devoted to the Queen the highlight of the show.

Jubilee

The seven pictures will take up one wall of the exhibition and cover the Queen's life from the age of seven to 72.

Also forming part of the jubilee display will be another rarely-seen piece by Henry Marvell Carr.

There will also be works by Robert Wraith, Michael Noakes, Ricardo Macarron, Edward Halliday and David Poole.

Henry Marvell Carr painted the Queen in her regal finery in 1959

Following this royal theme, a portrait of the Princess Royal by David Cobley will also be exhibited at the annual exhibition for the first time.

Next week, the society will release more details of other portraits in this year's show, including pictures of star names from the world of arts and entertainment.

It has already revealed that among this year's pieces will be a portrait of the playwright Tom Stoppard by Daphne Todd, who was recently honoured with an OBE.

Thespian

Michael Noakes, who painted former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when in office, will have on show his portrait of her husband Denis.

And actress Fiona Shaw, who won praise for her London stage performance of Medea, has been painted by Victoria Russell.

June Mendoza's depictions of the archetypal British thespian Sir Donald Sinden and Australian entertainer Rolf Harris are also expected to be of particular interest.

The annual exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters will be at London's Mall Galleries from 2 to 19 May.