Photo: Handout/Chris Jackson/Getty
Queen Camillareached deep into the royal archive to bring something special toAntiques Roadshow.
Queen Camilla joined host Fiona Bruce at the Eden Project in Cornwall, an especially poignant place for the royal. The Eden Project is the organization behind The Big Lunch, an annual event encouraging people across the U.K. to share a meal with neighbors to boost community spirit and reduce loneliness. A nationalBig Jubilee Lunchwas held duringQueen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, and plans are in motion for a similarCoronation Big Lunchduring Charles and Camilla’s May coronation weekend.
Queen Camilla was also still known as the Duchess of Cornwall when theAntiques Roadshowepisode was filmed, a title that has since passed toKate Middleton.
As seen in asnippetof theAntiques Roadshowepisode, Bruce asked Queen Camilla if she regularly tuned into the program.
“I’ve watched forever and ever and ever. It’s my Sunday evening treat,” the Queen Consort revealed.
Presenting an antique for inspection, Queen Camilla unveiled a snuffbox from theRoyal Collection, which impressedRoadshowsilver expert Duncan Campbell with its rich history.
“I wanted to bring along something that was associated with Cornwall,” Camilla explained. “And of course, it doesn’t exist now, but in those days there was a silver mine here. A real duchy, just 40 minutes away. And this was the result of the duchy,” she said of the ornamental box, which was “given to a forbearer of my husband.”
“The inside’s beautifully gilded, like the day it was made,” Campbell said, noting that the snuffbox is one of a few things John Northam made for the Prince Regent, King George IV, between 1800 and 1820.
“He was a hugely skillful craftsman and an extraordinary man. His output was small, but obviously, he had the good commissions,” the expert said of Northam. “And this is just a treasure.”
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“In all my years in silver, it’s the first bit of silver I’ve ever seen that’s made out of English silver,” Campbell added, which brought a smile to Camilla’s face.
“I suppose we’re not known for our silver, are we?” she joked.
Last October,The Repair Shopreleased a special episode where Charles saw the impeccable restoration of two royal items of his choosing: an 18th-century clock and a ceramic piece from Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
source: people.com
