Take That singer and hit musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber are to work on a song together to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Barlow is helping to organise the Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace on 4 June, where the track will be performed.

Before the writing gets underway, the X Factor judge will embark on a tour of the Commonwealth to find out what the Queen means to ordinary people.

He admitted that the project was the “biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on musically”, but added that he was “so excited and thrilled to be a part of it”.

Barlow will be followed on his Commonwealth tour by a BBC camera crew for an hour-long documentary that will air on BBC One on the same day as the concert.

Lord Lloyd Webber told Chris Evans on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show this morning that it was a “huge honour” to be involved in the project.

Speaking about how the collaboration came about, he said: “We both realised that there was a possibility that we would both be writing a song for the Jubilee to celebrate the Queen.

“I called Gary and said: ‘Are you doing it because someone’s talked to me about it?’ And we thought it best to say we might join forces.”

According to the BBC, there have been more than one million ticket applications for the Jubilee concert.

Barlow said he was hoping to find a “unique artist” to perform the song.