In time for Valentine’s Day tomorrow, a portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made entirely from 2,000 flowers has appeared in Trafalgar Square this morning. The portrait, which was placed outside the National Portrait Gallery was based on one of the official engagement photographs of the Duke and Duchess taken by Mario Testino.
It was created by the florist and RHS Chelsea Flower Show winner, 24-year-old Josph Massie, in partnership with the supermarket Asda to mark Valentine’s Day tomorrow.
When asked about his latest project, Mr Massie said, “I’m always looking for the next big project to create art with flowers, so this was the perfect challenge. It has been fantastic to work with Asda’s stunning flower range to recreate such an iconic image of William and Kate for Valentine’s Day.”
The portrait isn’t the first time that the royal couple’s engagement photo has been used for creating unusual variations. In the run-up to the royal wedding in 2011, the artist Mark Kennedy recreated the same photo using Love Heart sweets, while the food artist Prudence Staite made a version for Crown Carveries using roast ingredients.
The portrait on display this morning measured 8.8ft tall by 6.6ft wide and took 150 man hours to make.
