The jewel that I found hidden in the royal photographic archives!

Anders, Dexter and I went to Holyrood Palace at the weekend as Anders said "I have never been round the palace, it's about time I did"!  So we all went along and did the tour, which I remember going to as a child although it has changed a lot since I did it last! The part I personally enjoyed most was seeing a small, specially selected group of black and white photographs. Actually if I am to be honest, only 2 of them to be precise both of which were done by Cecil Beaton (which I did not photograph) and just jumped off the walls compared to the other photographs which to me looked like typical family portraits and not really that exciting at all except from a subject perspective. These two Cecil Beaton images however were NOT the jewels that I found, no siree!!!

Just after this short exhibition which had Cecil Beaton's photographs, to leave we needed to exit through the temporary gift shop which also had some of the traditional portrait family photographs of the Queen with her family. The images in the shop were in colour and like the black and white ones in the previous room, I personally didn't find inspiring until I spotted a flaw in one of them and all of a sudden one photograph became my jewel in the crown. It was magnificent and I couldn't help but burst out laughing and ask if I could take pictures of what I found and being given permission I photographed this one photograph only.

Prince Harry

The staff had no idea who had done this to the image which was on the wall or when it had been done.  It also wasn't obvious because there are no ink marks, only indentations, but I just loved them as they added charm/humour/personality which otherwise was missing, or at least I thought it was. It is the sort of thing me or my sister used to do to newspapers and magazine photos when we were children, in fact she and Dexter and I were doing this on the train at Christmas to a newspaper she had brought with her to read!!! 

Prince William

I am sure the actual portrait will now be removed because it is of our Monarchy having been defaced and I have brought it to their attention, but luckily I was given permission by a female staff member to take the photographs which to me are just really funny and have really played with my imagination.

Just as well we no longer send people to the Tower of London, and that we don't know who the original culprit was who did this eh!  Come to think of it, I am sure I would land there too for finding it funny and drawing attention to it (no pun intended)!!!