Dargie painted three versions of this work; for the first he was commissioned by the Australian industrialist James P. Beveridge and received five sittings at Buckingham Palace during November, 1954, following The Queen's return from the first Commonwealth Tour which included a significant period touring Australia between February and April that same year. This version was air freighted to Australia. The artist, concerned it may arrive damaged, produced a second version around the same time. The first version was presented to the Commonwealth of Australia by the recently-widowed Mrs. Beveridge at Parliament House, Canberra, on 21 April 1955. Now in the collection of the Historic Memorials Committee, it is on long-term loan to Parliament House, Canberra.
The second version remained in the possession of the Hamilton-Fairley family, to whom Dargie presented it, until it passed by sale to the National Museum of Australia in 2009.

This version is the third and final example, painted slightly later than the first two and presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies, during an audience with The Queen at Buckingham Palace whilst in London attending the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, 11 July 1957.

The Queen is depicted wearing a gown designed by Sir Norman Hartnell which was worn in Sydney on the first evening of the 1954 official visit to Australia, and in Perth on the final evening. Photographs taken of Her Majesty at this time suggest the gown was slightly brighter than in the portrait.

Three-quarter-length, seated, facing slightly to the left, her head turned to face the spectator, her hands clasped in her lap; she wears a lemon-coloured chiffon evening gown and matching stole with a spray of artificial golden wattle flowers, the national flower of Australia, pinned to the proper right, with the Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace and the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara; plain dark background. Sometimes referred to as 'The Wattle Painting', reproductions of this work have been widely distributed throughout public buildings in Australia and it was included on Australian naturalisation papers.