Queen Elizabeth banned portrait on display after 60 years

A banned painting of Queen Elizabeth II has been put on display for the first time in 61 years, the Digital Spy reported.

The controversial portrait was banished from Liverpool town hall because it didn't bear a decent likeness to the monarch, with an unusually long neck.

Council chiefs ordered the artwork to be hidden away from public view in the vaults.

John Napper was commissioned to paint the portrait in 1952 for the Queen's coronation. The painting will now be displayed at Liverpool's St George's Hall to mark its 60th anniversary.

The artist described it as "a beautiful painting of a queen, but not this Queen".

Liverpool's deputy Lord Mayor Gary Millar, a trustee of the hall, said: "We are very proud that Liverpool now has the original first painting hanging in St George's Hall, which has been rehung to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

"It will be the first thing people will see if they come to get married or have a civil partnership or attend a citizenship ceremony."

Napper eventually painted a second portrait with a smaller neck, and is still hung in the town hall today.

Millar added: "It strengthens the link between the city's two civic buildings. The second version of the John Napper painting is hanging in the town hall and we have the original here.

"It is an honour for us to work with the friends of the hall, the staff there and the city council to rehang this beautiful painting."