The Queen saw a new portrait of herself unveiled virtually, and she even made a joke about the painting's empty teacup

• Queen Elizabeth saw a new painting of herself on a video call, which was the first virtual royal portrait unveiling in history.
• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ordered the artwork as a "lasting tribute" to the Queen's continued service in the UK.
• The painting, by award-winning artist Miriam Escofet, features the Queen in a blue dress, sitting on a golden chair, and with a cup of tea beside her.
• Upon seeing the painting for the first time, Escofet told The Guardian that the Queen joked, "But there's no tea in the cup."

Queen Elizabeth II just saw the finished product of her newest royal portrait.

The 94-year-old monarch tuned in on Saturday from Windsor Castle, where she's been in quarantine since March with Prince Philip, to see her portrait unveiled over a video call.

This was the first virtual royal portrait reveal, according to Harper's Bazaar.

The new royal portrait was painted by Spanish artist Miriam Escofet, who won the prestigious BP Portrait Award in 2018. The work was commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), who wanted the artwork to be a "tribute to Her Majesty's contribution to British Diplomacy," as the Queen has visited more than 100 countries during her reign.

A tweet from the Royal Family's official Twitter account shows the Queen's portrait and Her Majesty's reaction.

—The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 25, 2020

The Queen is depicted in a blue dress and sitting on a golden chair. There is a cup of tea on a table beside her, and the cup features a disguised mark of the FCO, which Escofet pointed out to the Queen over video.

"I hope I'll see it in real life one day," the Queen said on the video call after the portrait was unveiled.

Escofet told The Guardian that the Queen "seemed to react very positively to it," and added that she made some "amusing comments," including a joke: "But there's no tea in the cup."

"I wanted the portrait to capture Her Majesty's humanity, her radiance and her warmth, which came through so strongly in the two portrait sittings," Escofet told The Guardian.

Escofet spent seven months creating the painting and had to finish in it lockdown. She had two sittings with the Queen to capture her for the painting, which occurred prior to lockdown: one in Buckingham Palace and one at Windsor Castle.

Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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