Portrait Prince Harry and Price William

Artist Nicky Philipps, 45, shows the princes at their official residence, Clarence House, London, and said she hoped the painting captured "a behind-the-scenes glance at the human element of royal responsibility and to emphasize their brotherly relationship."

The portrait shows Princes William and Harry wearing the dress uniform of the Household Cavalry, as worn for the Queen's Birthday Parade.

As a Portrait Photographer, I find this image a bit odd. The awkward postures and the off center composition make the portrait look more like a family snapshot than an official image. But then, it is a Portrait of Price Harry and Prince William, a couple of fairly un-Royal Royals. An oil painting is more art than a photograph, so it has to leave some room for interpretation. The first double portrait makes one more bit of history for the Royal Family.

My London thoughts are happy that this portrait of Prince Harry and Prince William was painted in Clarence House, which stands beside St James's Palace. It was built between 1825 and 1827 to the designs of John Nash for Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence. He lived there as King William IV from 1830 until 1837. During its history, the house has been altered, reflecting the changes in occupancy over nearly two centuries.

Clarence House is open to the public.

Opening hours

The Summer Opening of Clarence House will be 31 July - 1 September 2010. Further dates may be added.

10:00-16:00 (last admission 15:00)

Timing your visit

A typical visit lasts 45 minutes. Entry is by timed ticket, with entrance every 15 minutes.

Admission by guided tour. All tickets are timed and must be pre-booked.

The guided tours will start promptly at the time stated on your ticket. Please note that late-comers cannot be admitted.

As Clarence House is a working royal residence, opening arrangements may be subject to change at short notice.

Admission prices

Adult £8.50
Over 60/ Student (with valid ID) £8.50
Under 17 £4.50
Under 5 Free

London's National Portrait Gallery

Being a portrait photographer, I kind of like places like London's National Portrait Gallery-just to see if much has changed over the years. Not much has-just the medium and the costumes, the lighting and body angles are often exactly what I use today. I have always been one of those people that likes the look of a real painting hanging on a wall in front of me. The Wife seems perfectly content just looking at a photo in a book. I like to stand where The Master once stood in front of a painting.

London's National Portrait Gallery is right behind Trafalgar Square, famed for pigeons and London's Smallest Police Station. When I was there you could buy cracked corn to feed the pigeons, who are not at all bashful in Trafalgar Square and will freely sit on an outstretched arm or perch upon your head if you stand still for a minute. Amid the splashing water of the fountains and the screeching of the birds, this is a loud and fun spot. Your sure to want at least a few pictures of pigeons before heading off to the National Portrait Gallery-or maybe a bit of video would be better at catching the energy of Trafalgar Square.

There is a lot to see in The National Portrait Gallery and there are a few paintings you should seek out-including Sir Joshua Reynolds's first portrait of Samuel Johnson, a full-length of Elizabeth I, and a Holbein cartoon of Henry VIII. There's also a portrait of William Shakespeare (with a gold earring) by an unknown artist that bears the claim of being the "most authentic contemporary likeness" of its subject.

The website for London's National Portrait Gallery is filled with a mind boggling amount of information-The Online Database contains info about 113,519 works-57,952 of are illustrated. The National Portrait Galley's collection includes over 330,000 works. The database is being expanded regularly. For example, there are 39 portraits of John Lennon and 6 portraits by famed Hollywood Portrait Photographer George Hurrell. It would be easy to spend a good deal of time wandering around the images online. But I do like seeing these kinds of things in person.

OPENING HOURS-Open daily 10am - 6pm Late night opening Thursday and Friday until 9pm Last admission to paying exhibitions is 45 minutes before the Gallery closes. Closing commences 10 minutes prior to the stated tim0.The Gallery is closed 24-26 December. ADMISSION-Entry to the building is free. There are charges for special exhibitions throughout the year. Ticket prices vary. Disabled visitors pay concessionary rates and carers are entitled to free admission.

Photography is not allowed in The National Portrait Gallery.