Portrait of Queen Elizabeth made from Rubik’s Cubes draws praise from Prince William

Prince William thanked 11-year-old Henil Soni for his portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which he made out of Rubik's Cubes in 51 minutes. Photo / @sigmatrust

Prince William has thanked a child prodigy who created a portrait of his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth using 3000 solved Rubik’s Cubes.

The future King, 42, sent a letter of appreciation to schoolboy Henil Soni, 11, who took only 51 minutes to make the 6.1m by 4.9m mosaic in tribute to the monarch who died in 2022 aged 96, which was unveiled at Harwich and Dovercourt High School in Essex on November 13.

Father-of-three William sent a letter to Henil’s shop owner mother Priyanka Soni, 35, after she invited him to her son’s world record breaking attempt at creating the world’s largest Rubik’s Cube mosaic.

The one-page message posted by the head of royal correspondence ahead of Henil’s display of skill said: “Dear Mrs. Soni, The Prince of Wales would have me thank you for your letter, in which you invite His Royal Highness to your son’s world record attempt in December.

“Although The Prince is unable to attend on this occasion, it was most interesting to hear about Henil’s wonderful achievements and His Royal Highness would have me express his sincere hope that the event will be a success.

“It was thoughtful of Henil to honour Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in this way. The Prince of Wales would have me send his warmest thanks and very best wishes to you and to Henil.”

Many congratulations to @harwichschool student Henil on his Rubik's Cube-inspired world record achievement ⭐.

Read all about it via this BBC article - https://t.co/5iHSCMtYtT. pic.twitter.com/XYkatKEFIH

— Sigma Trust (@sigmatrust) December 10, 2024

Henil’s 29.7 m² artwork, which cost between £2000 and £3000 ($4379 and $6568) to build, is one of the biggest of its type ever made using the 3D cubes.

The boy told the Sun: “It was a very exciting day for me. I have another portrait planned but I’m keeping it a secret for now because it’s going to be extraordinary.

“Another marvellous moment for me was when I got a letter from Prince William a few days before – I am so happy he took his time and replied to me.”

Henil has been solving Rubik’s Cubes since he was 5.

The 3D puzzle has 43 quintillion possible combinations but the whizz soon got bored with solving the game at super speeds, so decided to start using them to create portraits of famous faces.

He works by choosing a photo, which he pixelates and divides into quadrants so he knows where to put each cube after it has been solved.

Along with Queen Elizabeth, he has also created mosaics of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and India’s premier Narendra Modi.

Expressing regret he couldn't attend in person, Prince William thanked Henil for his work on the portrait. Photo / Getty Images

His mum added to the Sun: “Henil first picked up a Rubik’s Cube when he was very small – only around four or five years old – and we quickly realised he was very good at them.

“He decided to start creating portraits when he was still at primary school. He particularly likes creating pictures of famous or important people.

“It costs a lot of money and takes up a lot of room – our whole living room is constantly full of Rubik’s Cubes – but we’re very proud of him.”

Henil is now hoping to beat the Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest Rubik’s Cube mosaic, set in 2013 by Canada-based designer Josh Chalom who created one of the skyline of Macau, China, in a 67m long and 4m tall one using 85,794 puzzles.