A Beaming Prince George Charms on Royal Mail Stamps for Queen’s 90th

While this is not about something Kate wore, a new photograph has generated a significant amount of online chatter so we’re sharing a quick post. Below, the new photo featuring HM and three generations of heirs.

The picture was taken under extremely secretive conditions by London photographer Ranald Mackechnie, a commission on behalf of the Royal Mail for use in a new set of commemorative stamps. Each of stamp features one of the four generations of royalty: HM, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George. There was quite a challenge in getting the placement of all four subjects correct, more from Richard Palmer in his story for The Express:

Behind the scenes, the London-based photographer was faced with a tricky problem: how to ensure that George’s head appeared at roughly the same height as the three adults’.

The toddler was obviously too short but Mackechnie came up with an ingenious solution – George is balancing on four high density foam blocks stacked together and secured by tape.

This image the Royal Mail released illustrates the challenge Mr. Mackechnie encountered, and clearly solved quite well.

The circumstances of the shoot were so secretive the photographer’s wife didn’t even know about the commission. More from Gordon Rayner’s story in The Telegraph.

The photograph was taken in the summer of last year, and Mr Mackechnie signed a confidentiality agreement that meant he could not even tell his wife he had been to Buckingham Palace.

“She still doesn’t know,” he said yesterday. “She will only find out when this is made public. I stuck to the John le Carre theory that if you tell one person, you’ve told everyone.”

This set of four is part of a larger collection of stamps being offered in conjunction with HM’s 90th birthday.

The Royal Mail

The logistics for the shoot were very involved, back to The Telegraph’s coverage.

He had computer monitors in the room with templates of the final stamp sheet so he could make sure each person’s head fitted into the right frame.

Buckingham Palace had supplied Prince George’s exact height so he could work out how to get his face a similar height to the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge.

There are a variety of ways to purchase the commemorative stamps, including the Presentation Pack, a 90th Birthday Souvenir Pack, and many other options. Additional commemorative stamps tied to HM’s 90th are being offered, including this set of 6: the three color images relate to the Queen’s official duties, the three black & white pictures focus on her family life.

The Royal Mail

Mr. Mackechnie told reporters that Prince George was very well behaved. The Telegraph has more:

“He was absolutely charming, as you can see from the picture. You only have a short window of opportunity with small children, but Prince George was on good form and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing him enjoy the day.

“He was fascinated by my lights and all the kit, and he was quite happy standing on the blocks. I took maybe 80 or 100 shots, but when I saw this one I knew straight away that was it.”

If interested in what Prince George wore, our sister site, What Kate’s Kids Wore, has all the details here.

Quick bytes:

• The Queen’s actual birthday is this Thursday, the 21st. The royal family will celebrate the occasion privately at Windsor Castle.
• On Friday Kate, William, and Harry host President and Mrs. Obama for dinner at Kensington Palace.
• If you’ve not yet voted in our post-tour earring poll click here to cast your vote.  Below, a quick look at the leaders in the ‘new earrings’ category.

©Polaris/Kiki McDonough/Kiki McDonough/i-Images