Yesterday at Southampton the Queen officially named Cunard's new liner, Queen Elizabeth. 

Spectrecom has been recording the building of this magnificent ship every couple of months or so, ever since her keel was laid down at the Fincantieri shipyard at Monfalcone, Italy, last year.

We have also been documenting the painting of a portrait of the Queen that now hangs in the ship's Grand Lobby. The portrait was painted by Isobel Peachey. At 31, Isobel is the youngest person ever to have been commissioned to paint the Queen, and she had to do so under a cloud of complete secrecy.

Whilst we first filmed Isobel at work back in February, and then on several successive occasions over the summer, it was not until 1^st September that it was officially announced that the Queen would be naming the ship. The portrait wasn't due to be unveiled until later that month. So Isobel couldn't tell even her closest friends what she was up to. She effectively went into seclusion and had to forsake her artist's studio for her mother's attic in south west London, and that's where the work took place. Over the months that followed, Isobel produced a painting that was both traditional and regal, and yet with enough character to reflect the artist's own interpretation of her subject. The picture shows the Queen wearing the necklace and earrings she had worn at the Coronation in 1953 and which had formerly belonged to Queen Victoria.

The portrait was unveiled to the world's press on 20^th September at the National Portrait Gallery, but perhaps the real highlight was yesterday, when Isobel showed the painting to the Queen in person. The Queen had seen some of the preliminary sketches Isobel showed her during the sittings, but this was the first time she saw it finished, resplendent in it's modern gilt frame, and hanging in its new home. The portrait will be a magnificent feature in the Grand Lobby for the entire life of this new ship, and then who knows, perhaps in 30 or 40 years time another Cunarder will proudly bear the Queen's name and the portrait will be transferred to that liner. Isobel has created a valuable addition to the Cunard legacy and I feel privileged that Spectrecom was there to record her achievement.