Prince Gorge A Cut Above

I could not resist showing this picture of Prince George. It is just one of a series of about 80 -100 that was taken and eventually used to form the basis of the miniature sheet for the 90th Birthday celebrations.

No wander this kid stole the show (as reported by several newspapers) with a beaming smile the three year old  is a cut above the rest standing on a platform to put him in the eye line with the adults.

As reported on Linns Stamp News: Royal Mail provided this background story of the photo shoot by Ronald Mackechnie. On of the challenges for Mackechnie was the height difference  between the four members of The Royal Family.

Royal Mail explained:

 “For both aesthetic and technical reasons Prince George couldn’t be positioned much lower within the photograph. The position of each portrait within the miniature sheet was critical due to tight technical constraints.”

The solution was to stand the young prince on foam blocks that were part of Mackechnie’s photography equipment. 

“Using the blocks enabled the Prince to be lifted into the frame so it was a more intimate grouping,” Royal Mail said.

As for Prince George’s reaction, Mackechnie told Gordon Rayner of the Telegraph newspaper: “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.”

Now just in case someone informs me that this is a Machin blog, Here is a picture of the actual Prestige Pane from the 90th birthday booklet. Only my personal opinion, what a great issue. I do not think you read this blog, but just in case you do :-) Enjoy the celebrations Your Majesty and have a lovely birthday. We as Machin buffs wish you many many happy returns of the day.