Portrait horribilis: why it’s so hard to draw the Queen

The awkward portrait on Australia’s new five-dollar bill is just the latest unflattering depiction of Elizabeth II. Artists are falling foul of the fine line between regal myth and obvious lies

Why has Australia put an unsmiling, awkward, unflattering portrait of the Queen on its new five-dollar bank note?

It is tempting to see Her Majesty’s apparent displeasure as a reflection of the monarchy’s ambiguous standing in Australia, where republican sentiment – although on the wane, according to opinion polls – is far more common than back in the old country. But Australian voters rejected a republic in 1999, and so long as the Queen has a constitutional role she gets her head on the currency. Yet this less than authoritative image surely reveals an ambivalence, a hesitance in vaunting the regal visage.

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