The Queen spent a day in Bath celebrating the city’s arts and cultural life, with visits to the Holburne Museum, the Theatre Royal Bath and independent publisher Persephone Books on Tuesday, 17th February.
Curator Rosemary Harding giving the Queen a tour of the exhibition Zandra Rhodes – A Life in Print | Photo © Anna Barclay
At the Holburne, The Queen was welcomed by Chair of the Museum Edward Bayntun-Coward and Director Dr Chris Stephens before spending an hour touring historic collections and newly opened temporary exhibitions.
Her visit began in the new Schroder Gallery on the lower ground floor, where she viewed one of the finest private collections of Renaissance silverware, paintings, bronzes, maiolica and gems from the Schroder family collection.
On the first floor, she toured Zandra Rhodes: A Life in Print, celebrating the colourful garments of one of Britain’s most influential fashion designers, followed by a display of black and white photographs by renowned photojournalist Don McCullin.
The Queen also spent time in The Shape of Care, a group exhibition created by local community participants exploring the theme of care.
She met contributors whose artworks feature in the show, including Debbie, who said: “When I was homeless 10 years ago at my lowest of low, I never thought I’d be doing anything like this. It’s a wonderful experience to be involved in.”
Dr Chris Stephens, Director of the Museum, said: “It was a true honour to welcome Her Majesty the Queen back to the Holburne.
“I was extremely proud to showcase the dedication and achievements of my staff and our amazing team of volunteers who make the Holburne a welcoming and inspiring space for everyone.”
The Queen with the company of David Copperfield A Life | Photo © Matt Cardy
The Queen then visited the Theatre Royal Bath, where she has been Patron since 2008 and last visited in 2009.
She was received by Theatre Royal Bath Director Danny Moar and taken into the Main House auditorium to see work in progress on David Copperfield: A Life, an epic community production featuring a company of more than 100 people.
There she was introduced to director Sally Cookson and writer Mike Akers, met key members of the creative team and watched the company perform the prologue from the show. After the performance, Sally Cookson presented cast members including Helen Nowlan (Aunt Pandora), Phil (Pip) Maguire (one of the actors playing David Copperfield) and Catherine Mecredy (Judge Martha Steel).
The Queen was then shown the site where a new fringe-style community venue will be built at the heart of the historic theatre complex, before heading to a reception at The Egg Theatre, the Theatre Royal’s dedicated children and young people’s space.
At the reception she met supporters including Linda Hillman, whose late brother David Franklin was a longtime supporter of the theatre, and Trustees of the Miss Beryl Billings Charitable Trust – Chair Judith Peplar, Andrew Mortimer and Tim Rutherford – who have donated a substantial sum towards the new venue.
The Queen meeting people in Bath | Photo © Matt Cardy
Using a specially designed theatrical prop in the shape of a replica toy theatre, The Queen unveiled the name of the new community venue, previously known as Venue 4.
It will be called The Billings, in honour of Bath-born actress Margot Boyd, best known for playing Marjorie Antrobus in The Archers, whose legacy under the Miss Beryl Billings Charitable Trust has helped support the Theatre Royal Bath’s community and arts work.
David Copperfield producer Katherine Lazare said: “A visit from Queen Camilla is the best endorsement for all the community outreach work we have been doing at the Theatre Royal Bath, and it is brilliant to have that recognition.
“It is amazing that The Queen unveiled that the name of Venue 4 will now be The Billings, a venue which will provide a home for the programme of work we do within the community, a place to invite people into, a place everyone will be welcome”.
Director Sally Cookson added: “It was a thrill to welcome The Queen into our technical rehearsal today, it gave us all a buzz and the cat members were ‘all a quiver!’
“Having this recognition from The Queen makes the participants feel seen and valued and made to feel that their work is important, which it is.”
The Queen Visits Persephone Books in Bath | Photo © Suzy Slemen
The cultural programme concluded with a visit to Persephone Books, the independent publisher specialising in neglected 20th-century fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women. The Queen was welcomed by founder Nicola Beauman and MD Francesca Beauman.
Over tea in the shop, they discussed building a literary canon around domestic feminist narratives, rescuing lost women’s voices, and how readers are often more familiar with male perspectives on the world wars than female ones.
The Queen heard about forthcoming title The Prisoner, the work of writers such as Dorothy Whipple, and moved on to chat about Elizabeth Jane Howard, Upstairs Downstairs and Foyle’s War.
Francesca Beauman said: “We were thrilled to welcome Her Majesty the Queen to Persephone Books. She came to Bath to visit the Holburne Museum, the Theatre Royal and us.
“We showed her round the bookshop, then she sat down at the ‘wrapping table’ and had a cup of tea (‘milk and one’, a tiny etiquette drama as we weren’t sure whether to pour the milk for her, or not) and we had a delightful chat about, not to be immodest, why our books are so wonderful.
“Then we showed her the printed sections of our upcoming title, The Prisoner, and the endpapers and jacket (all of which are being turned into actual finished copies of the book as we speak); talked about the marvellousness of Dorothy Whipple; and then morphed into a discussion about Elizabeth Jane Howard, Upstairs Downstairs and Foyle’s War.
“There was a large and affectionate crowd waiting outside as she left (with three of our books, if she ever has time to read them: Crooked Cross by Sally Carson, They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple and Mariana by Monica Dickens).”
