London: As she reaches 70 years on the throne, the Queen has amassed every gift imaginable from dignitaries around the world.
Little has meant as much to her as the hand-drawn cards and letters from her people, it appears, as she views a treasure trove of memorabilia from the milestones of her reign, in new film footage released to coincide with Accession Day, Sunday (Monday AEDT).
The Queen, who wore jewellery honouring her late father, has viewed a collection of home-made cards from previous jubilees, which include advice from a little boy on how to train her dogs and a fingerprint portrait done by toddlers. One card from the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, which was made from old bottle tops to signify how she was “the tops”, was proclaimed to be “simple but ingenious”, while a Recipe For A Perfect Queen, written by a nine-year-old, was praised as “very creative”.
The items have been stored in the royal archives at Windsor Castle, and were shown to the Queen by Dr Stella Panayotova, librarian and assistant keeper, ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.
Among the objects brought to Her Majesty, who was seated in a chair in the Oak Room of the castle, was a fan given to Queen Victoria to mark her Golden Jubilee in 1887 by the then Prince and Princess of Wales, later Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. It was signed by Victoria’s family, including all her children, and friends such as the Marquess of Salisbury and Joseph Chamberlain.
The Queen appeared particularly fascinated by the fan, opening and closing it to read the names. “It’s very well preserved, isn’t it,” she said. “How extraordinary. And it still shuts.”
The Queen’s pet, Candy, is a “dorgi”, a dachshund-corgi crossbreed, and was briefly in 2020 her only dog before she got some new puppies. Credit:PA Pool
The monarch was joined in the viewing by her dorgi, Candy, who ambled into the room unexpectedly to be with her mistress, a small number of staff and a camera operator.
“And where did you come from? I know what you want,” the Queen says, leaning down to stroke the dog.
While the nation and the Commonwealth prepare to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee over a June Bank Holiday weekend, Sunay in the UK – Accession Day – marks the moment she inherited the throne on February 6, 1952. The day is one of quiet reflection, given that it also marks the death of her father, George VI.
The footage of the Queen shows her wearing two brooches, given to her as an 18th birthday present from her beloved “Papa” in April 1944. The pieces were made by Boucheron from baguette, oval and round diamonds and aquamarines.
She also chose to wear the precious brooches when she addressed the nation on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and for her Diamond Jubilee televised speech in 2012.
To commemorate the day, which also marks the death of George VI, the Queen wore two brooches given to her by her beloved “papa”. Credit:PA Pool
She will spend tomorrow on the Sandringham Estate, as she does each year, to honour her father’s memory.
The exhibition, laid out two weeks ago while the Queen and court were still at Windsor, also includes a few Platinum Jubilee cards which have already arrived.
Recipes and pictures of entries to the Platinum Pudding competition were on display, showing how amateur cooks have risen to the challenge of creating a memorable dessert.
The monarch browsed through images of the entries, taken aback by the detail of one “rather complicated” one, and remarked: “Looks like they’re all going to end with crowns on them.”
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said the Royal Household receives more than 100,000 pieces of correspondence in a Jubilee year, including tens of thousands of messages of support and congratulations for the Queen.
Elizabeth II is the only British monarch to reach the 70-year milestone – surpassing Queen Victoria’s 63 years and 216 days – joining a small handful of kings and queens around the world.
The Telegraph, London
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