Following in the royal family’s giant footsteps

What better gift for Her Majesty the Queen’s hard-earned 90th birthday than this historic portrait with great grandson George.

Following in family’s giant footsteps

Happy birthday Gan-Gan. And what better gift for Her Majesty the Queen’s hard-earned 90th birthday than this historic portrait with great grandson George and two other blokes.

The kid sure has some charm. You’d swear he’s stretching that killer smile a fraction wider just for his great grandma, the woman he calls “Gan-Gan”, the white-haired, warm-faced, slow-moving icon who outlasted everything from Nazism to the Beatles to Tickle Me Elmo to take her rightful place on that uncomfortable-looking golden sofa.

The shoot took only 25 minutes, carried out in secret for a Royal Mail commemorative stamp collection celebrating four generations of the royal family.

Prince George was typically professional. Nudging three years old, he’s already a dab hand at high pressure international photo shoots. The kid doesn’t get out of bed for less than a bowl of Cornflakes and an apple juice, but he had no qualms at all when busy snapper Ranald Mackechnie asked him to mount four blocks to better align his angelic noggin with the Queen’s. He climbed up on those blocks joyfully in his Von Trapp family clobber and — in a pretty darn heartwarming father-son moment — clutched father William’s hand for balance.

Prince William, meanwhile, gave one of those classic harried dad-of-toddlers, gritted-teeth smiles that enables fathers to pose while still barking, ventriloquist-like, parental instructions.

“It was an amazingly relaxing and lighthearted sitting,” Ranald Mackechnie said. “It was much more relaxed than when I’ve tried to take pictures with my family.

“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.”