Government | Thursday 23 April, 2015 7:54 am |

British Ambassador Simon Collis was joined by more than 700 guests, including top Saudi officials, businessmen, executives and diplomats, at the British Embassy on Tuesday night to celebrate the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.
Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar was the guest of honor at the National Day celebrations.

A portrait of the British queen by renowned photographer David Bailey CBE was unveiled by Collis in the presence of Prince Faisal.
“Tonight, we celebrate the partnership between our two Kingdoms — our leaderships, our governments and our peoples,” said Collis. “This is a troubling time for the region, but as firm friends and allies, the UK and Saudi Arabia face these challenges together.”
He said that the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Britain is progressively growing, which is amply indicated by the frequent exchange of visits of top Saudi and British officials. He also mentioned the growing number of Saudi students on the current rolls of British universities and institutions.

Collis, who presented his credentials to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Wednesday, said: “We continue to welcome our close relationship in trade, tourism, investment and education.”
Speaking about the rare portrait, he said that the queen is keen to help raise the global profile of Britain as a world-class destination for trade, tourism, investment and education.

The portrait was prepared by David Bailey, who is one of the UK’s most celebrated and globally renowned photographers. “This is a wonderful photograph of Her Majesty, one of the world’s most recognized, admired and respected women,” said Collis.
The portrait was a unique commission on behalf of the Great Britain Campaign.
The Great Britain Campaign is an international marketing campaign to showcase the best of what Britain has to offer, in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK. The initiative was launched in September 2011. It is now a global campaign deployed by Britain’s diplomatic posts in 144 countries around the world.