A Stonehaven sweet shop has unveiled a portrait of the Queen – made entirely out of jelly beans.
The 4ft mosaic shows the monarch as she was at the start of her reign, and will be on display in E. Giulianotti’s premises in Evan Street until the middle of the month.
In the meantime, the family business is challenging customers to guess how many jelly beans it would take to get from the shop to Dunnottar Castle to raise funds for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s rooftop garden appeal.
The therapeutic garden will sit above the entrance to the accident and emergency department, and give patients somewhere scenic to relax and recuperate.
Marjory Stephen, who runs the sweet shop, decided she wanted to back the £500,000 campaign after remembering how difficult it had been to find somewhere outdoors to take her father when he had been in hospital.
She said: “We have had a fundraising can for the rooftop garden appeal for a few months ago, but once the portrait came in I decided to do something more.
“When my father was in hospital a number of years ago, we could only wheel him out to the front of the hospital. There is nowhere nice to take family members, so I think this is a really worthwhile project.
“It will be a wonderful facility that will bring people a great deal of comfort.”
A local scientist worked out how many sweets it would take to get to the castle by measuring them, mapping the route and calculating the distance.
The total came to six figures but that is the only clue guessers are being given.
Ms Stephen is sure customers will be flocking to take part in the competition, especially those keen to see the unusual wall art.
She added: “This is the third time we’ve had a jelly bean portrait so our customers are used to coming across these things. We had Marilyn Monroe two years ago, and Prince William and Kate last year.
“The kids just love it, they enjoy seeing someone they recognise made out of sweets.
“They really are amazing.”