Elizabeth, queen of arts: ITV programme on Prince Charles reveals impressive horse made out of cloth cut by his mother as an eight-year-old

The recent portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge was widely criticised by both critics and the public.


And now it seems that when it comes to producing art, the royals might be better off keeping it in the family.

A new documentary will reveal how generations of royals, from Mary Queen of Scots through George III and Queen Victoria to the present day, have displayed great artistic talent.

The Royal Paintbox, an ITV programme to be broadcast on April 16, recounts how the Queen showed creative promise as a young girl when she made a lino cut of a circus horse.



Impressive: The Queen's handiwork, which she signed 'Elizabeth of York'


According to her eldest son, the Prince of Wales - who she has always actively encouraged to paint - Her Majesty created the work when she was just eight or nine years old.

The programme - a slightly longer version of which will be shown in cinemas - will centre around the Prince of Wales and follow him on a trip to Scotland where he goes to sketch and paint.




It features several of his recent works including Lochnagar Mountain near Balmoral and the snowy Cairngorms.


Angelic: A portrait of Princess Elizabeth as an eight-year-old

Charles says his grandmother, the Queen Mother, also encouraged him from a young age 'to look and observe'.

Queen Victoria turned to her paint box for comfort after her husband Albert died in 1861. Interestingly, she often painted people while he was alive, but only landscapes after he died.

Also on the programme, Lady Sarah Chatto, the daughter of Princess Margaret and a professional painter, discusses her work and shows a teapot designed by her mother in 1956.

'My mother was very creative and artistic, and my father [Lord Snowdon] is a photographer, so I think I was in a very creative family background,' she says.

Another insight into the royal family's leisure time was revealed yesterday when one of the sailors from the Royal Yacht Britannia spoke out about the time he spent with the Queen.

Ellis 'Norrie' Norrell, the longest-serving Britannia crewman who worked on board for 34 years, told of The Sunday Times about the times he babysat a young Prince Charles, reprimanded the Princess of Wales, and had the Queen in fits of laughter with his comedy act.

The 79-year-old described the boat as 'somewhere where she would kick her shoes off and relax.'

When Charles and Princess Anne were young, one of the sailors would be assigned as a 'Sea Daddy' to look after them.

'We made games and treasure hunts for them so they could play around. They took turns on the wheel of the yacht, steering it like driving a car,' he said.

Years later, a grown-up Charles introduced the first double bed to the yacht for his honeymoon with Diana.

'One night Diana was playing the piano in the lads' bar,' Mr Norell said.



Keen on Scotland: The programme follows the Prince of Wales to Scotland where he likes to paint. He is seen here with the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William on a recent visit to Dumfries House in Ayrshire

'"Your Royal Highness," I said, "you should not be here. I'm quite happy to escort you back to your quarters."'

Afterwards, the commodore said, 'I was talking to the princess and she said you made her feel like a naughty schoolgirl.'

During her 44 years' service, Britannia sailed more than a million miles and undertook 968 official visits, including the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

The sailors would often entertain the Queen, during the more informal times.

'We used to do concerts for the Queen,' Mr Norrell said. 'We used to sing the Ovaltinies songs [popular in the 1950s and 1960s] but change the lyrics. We had the Queen in hysterics.'

Britannia was decommissioned in December 1997.


The clocks on board are stopped at 3.01pm, the time the Queen stepped off for the last time and was reportedly seen to shed a tear.

Bob Downie, chief executive of the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, said: 'In the 1970s, a note went out in the Royal Navy saying sailors should no longer be referred to by their nicknames, but the Queen asked if she could carry on calling Norrell 'Norrie'.