Queen’s portrait projected onto Palace

Face Britain Projects Princes Foundation for Children and the Arts Buckingham Palace Diamond Jubilee
Above: The children's self portraits will be stored in perpetuity for the nation by the British Library.

Buckingham Palace was illuminated yesterday evening with a giant image of The Queen, formed of thousands of self portraits by children from around Britain.

Face Britain The Princes Foundation for Children and the Arts Buckingham Palace
Above: The entire frontage of Buckingham Palace is covered with animated images and effects

The stunning display was comprised of over 200,000 images to form a giant mural of Her Majesty The Queen, celebrating the nation’s children and young people in the lead up to The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Children aged 4- 16 were invited to create their own special self portraits in aid of the project, entitled Face Britain, in the hope that they would be able to explore their creativity and cement their place in history as the 2012 generation. Portraits at all levels of skill, and in any medium were acceptable, including drawing, textiles, 3D, painting, graphics, and photography.

As well as the projection on to Buckingham Palace the images are simultaneously being screened for 24 hours on BBC Big Screens in 18 public locations across the UK.

The montage image will be attempting to break the Guinness World Records title for the most artists working on the same art installation. The current record is 28,267 artists who contributed to an installation in Israel in 2009. Following the projection of the montage onto Buckingham Palace, Guinness World Records officials will confirm if a new world record has been set.

Whether the project sets a world record or not, it is mostly certainly a joyful sight to behold, injecting a burst of technicolour to the already- beautiful palace, which will be remembered for years to come.

Face Britain Projects Princes Foundation for Children and the Arts Buckingham Palace Diamond Jubilee
Above: The children's self portraits will be stored in perpetuity for the nation by the British Library.

Truly a heart-warming event, Face Britain was organised by The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts- an educational charity established by HRH The Prince of Wales to enable disadvantaged young people to access and engage with professional arts. Since 2006 Children & the Arts has worked with more than 100 arts organisations across the UK and introduced over 100,000 children to the arts.

The Prince was inspired to start the charity following a visit to a school in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. He noticed a class studying Romeo and Juliet under the guidance of an enthused and inspiring teacher. As much as this pleased His Royal Highness, he was saddened to hear that not one of the pupils had seen it performed.

Coincidentally, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) was at that time staging a performance of the play in Stratford-upon-Avon. Being president of the RSC, the Prince took the class to see it and afterwards the cast talked to the pupils. When they returned to school following the trip, the youngsters wrote to the Prince saying it was the best experience of their lives.

From such noble beginnings, the Foundation has continued to inspire young people with wonderful projects, such as Face Britain, and has ambitious plans to build on this in the future.

As such, the Face Britain projections will run for three consecutive nights from 8:30-11:15pm, until Sat 21st April. If you are paying a visit to the capital, it is definitely a must-see! Visit www.facebritain.org.uk for more information details.

Celebrate the Diamond Jubilee in your own way and send a personal message to The Queen.

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