SHE has been painted by world famous artists, from Lucian Freud to Andy Warhol.

Now as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II approaches her 90th birthday, we have opened up that privilege to young Hampshire artists.

But time is running out to be in with a chance of being crowned top royal portrait painter in the Daily Echo’s Paint the Queen competition.

Among those who have already entered is five-year-old Poppy Devine, who sent in this beautiful portrait of our longest-serving monarch wearing a gorgeous spotted dress and a shiny red crown.

Entrants must send in their images before midnight tonight to have the chance to get their hands on top prizes.

The best picture in each category, for youngsters aged six and under, seven to 12 or 13-18, will be chosen by a panel of judges and the winner will get a £50 voucher to help celebrate the royal birthday. A selection of top drawings and paintings will also appear in the Daily Echo.

We can’t promise that the winning portraits will hang in in the National Gallery or Buckingham Palace, but they will have pride of place in the Daily Echo’s show of loyalty to the Queen on this special occasion.

Make sure you include your name, address and age in your entry so we know who to credit and which age group to put you in.

Send your entries to picdesk@dailyecho.co.uk or mail them to Paint the Queen, c/o Anne Dickie, PA to the editor, Southern Daily Echo, Newspaper House, Test Lane, Redbridge, SO16 9JX.