LONDON British artist Lucian Freud has agreed to paint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, but has set his own terms, the Independent reported Monday. Freud, 76, says the queen, 72, must come to his own studio west of London, and pose as many times as he wishes. Usually painters go to Buckingham Palace, for a maximum of five sittings, the report said.

Freud, grandson of the founder of psychiatry, Sigmund Freud, has previously turned down invitations to paint leading figures, including Pope John Paul II and the late Princess Diana. The Independent said it required six years of negotiations by the monarch's private Secretary Sir Robert fellowes for the artist to agree to paint the queen. Freud holds an auction record for a living painter, since his Large Interior, W11" fetched 5.6 million dollars in New York last May. (AFP)