A year in the life of the Queen: The series of fascinating sketches drawn by artist who enjoyed unprecedented access to monarch for an entire year

More than 250 fascinating drawings depicting a year in the life of the Queen have emerged and highlight the demanding and exhaustive role she performs.

Artist Michael Noakes was given unprecedented access to the monarch to draw her in private and public on her daily routine and duties, having previously been commissioned to do portraits of the Queen and the Queen Mother.

Mr Noakes, of Malvern, Worcestershire, stood in the background and sketched ‘on the hoof’ to capture some of the Queen’s more informal and intimate moments.

Badminton Horse Trials: The Queen awards a cup at the cross country three-day event

Love and marriage: The wedding of the Earl and Countess of Essex captured in pencil and watercolour

Bagpipes at dawn: Balmoral Castle, which has been the traditional summer vacation home for the royals since Prince Albert bought it for Queen Victoria in 1852

Dignitaries: The Queen hosting the prime minster of Hungary, president Goncz, in June 1999 at Windsor Castle

The finished album of 260 pictures shows Her Majesty tirelessly performing a whole range of domestic roles across the UK, from the opening of a hospital to attending Royal Ascot.

She is captured meeting and greeting the public in cities such as Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester and Swansea as well as at the formal opening of Parliament and the Scottish Parliament.

The pictures also depict her on numerous overseas visits including trips to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, Ghana, Mozambique and South Korea.
There are works of art showing her at formal occasions at Buckingham Palace, such as welcoming dignitaries and hosting state dinners and watching over pomp and ceremony events like trooping the colour.

Business of the day: The Queen attends to her post and current affairs. She was said to be 'delighted' with her debut film role at the same desk during the James Bond scenes broadcast at the Olympics opening ceremony

Her Majesty: A side profile drawing of the Queen sketched 13 years ago in a red hat and suit

Nelson Mandela: The Queen met the former president of South Africa during his final year in office, during a royal visit

The Queen Mother: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on her 99th birthday in 1999. She died in March 2002 aged 101

Mr Noakes also sketched the Queen, Prince Phillip and the late Queen Mother at Royal households such as Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral.

He was given the access all areas status in 1999, culminating in the book ‘The Daily Life of the Queen, an Artist’s Diary’.
His late wife, the respected author Dr Vivien Noakes, accompanied him throughout the unique project and wrote the text for the book.

Mr Noakes, 78, is now selling the 260 works of art in one lot at auction with a pre-sale estimate of £25,000.

Howzat: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh greeting players from the 1999 Cricket World Cup in the White Drawing Room, Buckingham Palace

Royal Ascot: With a keen interest in horses, the Queen always attends this event, which has been a royal occasion since 1911

Pomp and pageantry: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh wave goodbye to the Chinese president at the Grand Entrance of Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Crown: Guarded by the Beefeaters in the Tower of London, the Crown Jewels are seen by millions of people each year

Auctioneers described the art work as a truly unique sale, given that no other artist has enjoyed as much access to the Queen as Mr Noakes.
Mr Noakes said his ‘gruelling’ year following the Queen around the world ‘nearly killed him’.
He said: 'It was a very interesting and fascinating year but it was also very gruelling and exhausting and all the travelling nearly killed me.

'I had with me a pad and pencils and ink and sometimes I would be two or three feet from her while other times I was stood well back with the crowds.

Making history: The Queen Mother's supportive role as the wife of George VI was celebrated in The King's Speech, played by Helena Bonham carter

Church of England: The Queen attends St Paul's Cathedral for a thanksgiving service.

State duties: The Queen with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and former Prime Minister Tony Blair outside Westminster Abbey

State opening of Parliament: The Queen reads the speech from the throne at the ceremonial event and gives an outline of the Government's proposed policies

'My wife would take photographs which also helped with my pictures.

'I added the colour in afterwards and quite often I would be working on them until 4am and then have to catch a plane the next morning.

  

'I had very few days off because of her extremely busy itinerary and on average I produced more than one drawing a day. There were lots of pictures that didn’t make it into the book.'

He recalled the moment he nearly ruined the Queen’s outfit by staining it with a marker pen as he measured her at the start of the project to get his proportions right.

State visit: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are greeted at the Blue House by former president Kim Due-Jung on the state visit to South Korea.

Trooping the Colour: The Queen's birthday in June is marked with the ceremony on Horse Guards Parade

Educational visit: The Queen visiting a primary school. Michael Noakes' album of 260 pictures shows Her Majesty tirelessly performing domestic, state and international duties.

Ghana: The Queen sketched on a State visit to Ghana

He also praised Prince Phillip for often stepping in when he noticed the Queen flagging slightly.

He said: 'Prince Phillip would latch on to this and take over and he would say that he would have people laughing in 15 seconds.'

Mr Noakes said he was beginning to downsize his huge collection of art work which was the reason for the sale.

He said: 'The time is going to come when my children are going to have to sort all my art work out, it will be overwhelming for them and they might just dump items like these in the bin.'
Mr Noakes, who has previously painted the Queen, Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton, used various mediums for his work including pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and oil.

Mourning: The Queen Mother lying in state at Westminster Hall in 2002. This painting will be auctioned alongside those from 1999

Politics: The Queen and Prince Philip host former conservative MP Virginia Bottomley, who was raised to the peerage in 2005

Landscape: Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where the royals traditionally celebrate Christmas

Blues and Royals: This march at Windsor Castle is performed by the Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons, a cavalry regiment of the British Army

Robert Hall, a picture specialist at London-based Bloomsbury auctioneers, said: 'Michael Noakes is at the top of the tree as far as establishment artists are concerned.

'No other artist has been given that sort of access to the Queen before and so works of art like these very rarely come on to the market.

'From looking at the pictures you do get the sense that the Queen leads an incredibly full life. It does give you an impression of what she gives and does for the country.'

The auction takes place at Bloomsbury on September 20.

The artist: Michael Noakes in his studio, who sketched more than 250 drawings of the Queen in 1999