LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - A new exhibition opening in
Windsor Castle on Thursday commemorates the life and legacy of
Britain's Prince Philip, including many fabulous items gifted
him over decades of official duties and overseas visits.
Titled 'Prince Philip: A Celebration', the display features
over 100 objects from the Duke of Edinburgh's life.
Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth and a leading figure
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/obituary-prince-philip-was-gruff-figure-heart-britains-monarchy-2021-04-09
in the British royal family for almost seven decades, died on
April 9, aged 99.
The exhibition had been planned as part of the 100th
birthday celebrations for Philip, who would have turned 100 on
June 10, curator Sally Goodsir told Reuters. "But following his
death in April, we have delayed its opening just by a couple of
weeks and are still holding it," she said.
Philip was aware of the exhibition and its contents, Goodsir
said.
Among the highlights of the display are the coronation robes
and coronet worn by Philip to the 1953 coronation of Queen
Elizabeth, and his chair of estate which normally stands beside
the queen's at Buckingham Palace and is displayed at Windsor
Castle for the first time.
Going on public display for the first time is a portrait of
the prince painted in 2017, the year of his retirement. The
painting by Ralph Heimans features Philip wearing the blue and
red Windsor uniform, standing in the Grand Corridor at Windsor
Castle.
The items range from the personal - such as Queen Victoria's
journal recording the birth of Prince Philip's mother, Princess
Alice, at Windsor Castle in 1885, to the eccentric - a
human-sized grasshopper wine cooler presented by former French
President Georges Pompidou during his visit to the UK in 1972.
Other items include: a Faberge frame with photographs of
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth that was a wedding gift; a
chess set presented by Nelson Mandela during his 1996 visit to
the UK; and a pair of cowboy boots with the words Prince and
Philip inscribed in gold, gifted to the prince during a visit to
Houston, Texas, in 1991.
Above the boots, the exhibit displays a First Nations
feather headdress, a 1973 gift from the Head Chief of the Blood
Reserve, Jim Shot Both Sides.
Also on show are the remains of Windsor Castle's St George's
Hall clock and a fragment of a burnt beam, salvaged by Philip
from the debris following a fire that swept through the castle
in 1992.
"I think without people being able to gather for the
funeral, as they might ordinarily have done, I hope they might
be able to come to the castle and learn a little bit more about
him," said Goodsir.
The exhibition will be open to the public until Sept. 20.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)