A NEW portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh is to go on display in the UK and Denmark next year.

Painted by artist Ralph Heimans, Philip is shown in the imposing setting of Windsor Castle wearing the sash of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark’s highest-ranking honour.

The Duke has a close association with Denmark as he was born a prince of Denmark, as well of Greece, before becoming a naturalised British subject in the 1940s.

His grandfather, George I of Greece, was a Danish prince born in Copenhagen, while his great grandfather, Christian IX, was king of Denmark from 1863 to 1906.

Mr Heimans, an Australian-born artist who painted an official portrait of the Queen to mark her diamond jubilee, said: “I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to paint Prince Philip and hope the portrait does justice to his unique character.”

The almost full length portrait of Philip has been set in the castle’s Grand Corridor and at the end of the walkway is the Tapestry Room where the royal’s mother, Princess Alice, and maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria, were born.

The painting will form part of a retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work at the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark next year.