A LAKE District designer says he hopes he has done The Queen justice after his portrait of the royal was selected to feature on new coins set to hit the country's shops later this year.

The Royal Mint gave the general public the first glimpse of the image that will soon be a familiar sight on United Kingdom coins at an unveiling at the National Portrait Gallery in London this week.

Only the fifth definitive portrait of The Queen to appear on coins since her accession to the throne in 1952, the portrait was drawn up by Jody Clark, of Bowness.

“I really liked the four previous coin portraits - each one is strong in its own way," said Jody, who celebrated his 34th birthday on Sunday. "I hope that I’ve done Her Majesty justice and captured her as I intended, in a fitting representation."

When it appears in shops later this year, it will become the fourth portrait currently in circulation, joining those created in 1968, 1985 and 1998.

Together, the coins paint a compelling picture of the story of Elizabeth II's reign.

Just 33 when his design was selected from a number of anonymous submissions, Jody is the first Royal Mint engraver to be chosen to create a portrait in more than 100 years.

He is also the youngest of the five designers to have created the portraits of The Queen that have appeared on UK circulating coin during her 63-year reign.

"The news that my design had been chosen was quite overwhelming, and I still can’t quite believe that my royal portrait will be featured on millions of coins, playing a small part in The Royal Mint’s 1,000 year history," he added.

His elegant portrayal of The Queen, wearing the Royal Diamond Diadem crown worn for her Coronation, was chosen by a panel of experts from such fields as history, sculpture, architecture, art and design.

“Although we were given photographs of Queen Elizabeth’s profile, I researched images online, something that past engravers would not have had the luxury of doing, which also helped me to decide what regalia I would include," he added. "I chose the Royal Diamond Diadem. I think it’s the most familiar and I wanted to make some clear distinctions between the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS, as Her Majesty really hasn’t aged too much in the years since."

Jody studied illustration at the University of Central Lancashire before building a wealth of experience in computer-aided design in the packaging industry, among other freelance illustration and design projects.

Since embarking on his career at The Royal Mint, Jody has worked on some notable projects such as the medals struck to celebrate the 2014 Ryder Cup and Nato Summit.