Queen Elizabeth unveils portrait of herself by painter Colin Davidson

Queen Elizabeth has unveiled a portrait of herself by Northern Ireland painter Colin Davidson at a reception for Cooperation Ireland at Crosby Hall, once the home in London of Sir Thomas More.

Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire, and former Taoiseach John Bruton were among those who attended.

The event at Crosby Hall was hosted by Cooperation Ireland’s chairman Christopher Moran, who bought the 15th century building in 1989 and painstakingly restored it.

Speaking at a dinner after the unveiling of the portrait, the Tanaiste praised Cooperation Ireland’s work in promoting peace and reconciliation in Ireland and spoke about the strength of the relationship between Britain and Ireland.

“Now we must also consider how it needs to evolve in a situation where Ireland will be a member of the EU, and the UK at some stage will not be. We will need to step up our bilateral ties in order to compensate for a discontinued partnership in Europe. The best outcome from our point of view would be for the UK to remain as close as possible to the EU and we will do what we can to facilitate this,” she said.