New Duke Portrait

Royal watchers will be pleased to know that Jemma Phipps' new portrait of The Duke of Edinburgh goes on public display at the Mall Galleries in London from 3 May to 18 May (CLICK). It's part of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition. The Duke's portrait shows him dressed as Colonel in Chief of the Queen's Royal Hussars. It was commissioned by the regiment and is destined for its officers' mess in Germany (CLICK). A friend commented that all the medals and gold braid make him look like the dictator of a banana republic. Bit old-fashioned, but then he is 90 years old. Admission to the exhibition is a moderate £2.50 for adults and £1.50 for silver surfers.