Artist and painter Juliet Pannett has died aged 94 years.

She was born Juliet Somers in Hove on July 15, 1911, and enjoyed a career spanning 80 years in which she painted the Queen twice and had an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

She studied at Brighton Art School under Louis Ginet and was producing drawings of people from Sussex for the county's newspapers by the age of 18.

In 1938, she married Captain Maurice Pannett of the Devonshire Regiment and during the war years she devoted her time to bringing up her children Denis and Elizabeth.

After the war, the family moved to Gloucestershire where her husband took up a teaching post and in 1949 they moved to Croydon. Mrs Pannett turned her garage into a studio and started producing portraits for newspapers.

The family moved to Angmering, near Littlehampton, in 1964, where Juliet entertained a host of famous people as sitters for her portraits.

She was elected a member of The Society of Graphic Artists and Pastel Society and became a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and an honorary freeman of The Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers, which awarded her a gold medal in 1995.

Working for The Illustrated London News, she was the first artist to draw from her own seat in the House of Commons, which she held for six years.

One of her drawings was of Sir Winston Churchill leaving the House for the last time.

Her drawings of prime ministers, musicians, soldiers, doctors and lawyers were featured in The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Radio Times.

Qantas Airlines invited her on board its first jet flight to Australia and she produced paintings at stop offs on the way, printed in The Illustrated London News.

In 1963, The Devon and Dorset Regiment commissioned her to produce a portrait of its Colonel in Chief, Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. She also produced a portrait of Prince Andrew which was given to the Queen as a gift.

In 1989, she was commissioned by The Chartered Insurance Institute to paint a large oil portrait of the Queen which still hangs in their offices in the City.

A second portrait of the monarch was presented to the Island of Malta in recognition of 25 years of independence by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Mrs Pannett was made a MBE in 1991. When she was in her late 80s, her eyesight deteriorated with macular degeneration and her last major portrait was of General Sir John Wilsey, Colonel of the Devon and Dorset Regiment.

In May 2004, at the age of 92, she was given a heart valve replacement operation which gave her a new lease of life and in December she was honoured with an exhibition featuring 21 of her works at the National Portrait Gallery. Despite failing health, she was able to attend.