Prince William has thanked a child prodigy who created a portrait of his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth using 3,000 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 mosaic in tribute to the monarch who died in 2022 aged 96 – which measured 20ft by 16ft which was unveiled at Harwich and Dovercourt High School in Essex on Friday. (13.12.24)
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.”
Henil’s 320 sq ft artwork, which cost between £2,000 and £3,000 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 aged five.
The 3D puzzle has 43 quintillion possible combinations but the whizz soon got bored of 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 premiere Narendra Modi.
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 220ft long and 13ft tall one using 85,794 puzzles.
