Latest news with #HistoricRoyalPalaces
Edinburgh Live
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
BBC Antiques Roadshow guest in disbelief over royal collection worth £15k
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An Antiques Roadshow participant was left exclaiming "that's a lot of money" as the valuation of his item caused a stir among the crowd on Sunday (June 1). The latest instalment of the popular BBC show was filmed at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, where locals brought along their antiques and fine art for expert appraisal. During the episode, specialist Hilary Kay was shown an "extraordinary" assortment of personal items belonging to Queen Victoria. "When you see a VR cypher, the initials under a crown on anything, you know that you have something exciting. You have a piece of royal clothing," Hilary began. The guest revealed he had inherited the collection from his great-aunt, who served as a lady's maid to a wealthy family. "In the late 1930s and 1940s, she was lady's maid to a Lady Inglefield, who was the wife of Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield, who came from a long line of naval people," he explained. "We found a sketch done by Princess Louise of one of the Inglefield admirals," the guest added, with Hilary quickly noting: "Princess Louise being one of Queen Victoria's daughters." The man continued: "So, somewhere there's a link... I'm miles off it," reports the Express. Hilary remarked that it was "interesting" that so many of Queen Victoria's undergarments are still in existence. "I've spoken to the Historic Royal Palaces about this, and the thought is actually that she asked her staff to give these away, not because they were worn out, but because actually they were in reasonable condition," she added. "They were really beautiful fabric, and she hoped that they might be able to make something of them. But I think because of the personal nature of these, I think people did keep them as souvenirs, as a direct link to something very personal to the Queen." Hilary then examined the collection closely, which featured items such as a pair of black stockings, a chemise, a nightdress, and a pair of Queen Victoria's split drawers. Regarding the value, the expert commented: "I know that the market is strong and I would certainly say something above £15,000," prompting an audible reaction of surprise from the crowd. "Right, that's a lot of money. Worth hanging on to, then. Very good," responded the astonished owner. Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Patricia Hodge says she's 'lucky to work' as she returns to screens aged 78
With a vast and notable lists of credits under her hat from over the years of her career, Dame Patricia Hodge opens up about her newest TV stint starring in BBC1's newest drama Death Valley Murder is no laughing matter for Patricia Hodge, who will be playing the role of Helena in the new BBC1 Saturday night drama Death Valley, starring Timothy Spall. A veteran of long-running shows including Poirot, Miss Marple, Waking the Dead and Inspector Morse, she says of Death Valley: "It is sort of that new genre of humorous murder mysteries, which is quite a difficult thing to get your head around, because I don't think there is anything funny about murder. But it's a new popular thing. "It was lovely working with Tim Spall, who is a darling. Anyway, I am interested to see how it pans out. I am not the new Vera, though!" Patricia, 78, filmed around Cardiff for the show, which follows eccentric retired actor John Chapel (Spall) and detective sergeant Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) as they form an unlikely, and often comedic, crime-solving partnership working in and around the Welsh valleys. Specific details of Patricia's role are being closely guarded, but she is one of a number of guest stars and, with her vast experience of crime drama, she is sure to add to the intrigue. Despite being close to 80, the star of A Very English Scandal is also busy working on another BBC murder mystery series, The Marble Hall Murders, based on the Anthony Horowitz books. Patricia, whose movie credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Elephant Man, clearly loves working. "Work is what we are," she says. "I sort of like being challenged. I don't want to sit on the back foot. I want to sit on the front foot. "I am filming this new Anthony Horowitz thing at the moment, The Marble Hall Murders, and I have been filming in Dublin and Greece, and I have never been to Greece, so that has been lovely. I am very lucky to work. Work engages me.' She is also acclimatising to life without her husband, music publisher Peter Owen, who died aged 85 in 2016, after suffering from dementia. Downton Abbey star Patricia cared for him until his death and has helped raise awareness of dementia. Speaking movingly in the past about her feelings of guilt over not being able to prevent her husband's memory loss, which eventually meant he couldn't recognise her, Patricia is not interested in finding anyone else. She says of her loss: "It is always a big adjustment, isn't it? We had over 40 years together, and it is now coming up to nine years (without Peter). I am not looking (for anyone new). It is not on my radar at all. I don't know what I feel, really. I have wonderful friends. I am very lucky to work." Besides acting, Patricia has been committed to supporting Historic Royal Palaces - the charity which oversees the restoration of ageing ancient palaces, held in trust for the nation by King Charles and the Royal Collection. She enjoys seeing new life being breathed into these impressive sites, for the nation to enjoy. Patricia, who lives in Barnes, south west London, continues: "I was on the development board of the Historic Royal Palaces when it came out of the public purse and was given charity status. It suddenly made all these palaces belong to the nation again. And they gave them public ownership. "I am no longer working on it, but it was amazing to be involved, and I would like to be involved again. I guess we only have so many hours in a day. During my time, we oversaw the opening of Kew Palace, which was so amazing because nobody had seen it before, and the things they uncovered, they did it so beautifully. I live in Barnes, so I am not far from it." Avid history lover Patricia was also keen to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. She says: "I stood on Hammersmith Bridge for the VE Day flypast and I watched the bombers come over. I was hit in the gut to think of what our parents went through. What they put up with and how they came through." Turning to more fickle matters, Patricia is keen to pay tribute to the man behind her meticulously well-groomed appearance. She says: "I have very enduring relationships. All my friendships go way back, so I have had the same hairdresser for years, since 1981. It is a man called Hugh Green." Immensely stylish, Patricia has an enviably ageless image. But she insists: "I have never, never lied about my age. I don't think there's any point, because people can find it out very easily. "I think, better to rejoice in what you are rather than try and stifle it. And if people find out and they know you've been lying, then what else are you lying about? You know, far better to live and embrace the truth." Made an OBE in 2017 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for her services to drama, despite being widely regarded as acting royalty, Patricia likes to be known simply as "Hodge."She says: " The diminutives in Patricia are a nightmare. For the first 10 years of my life, I was called Patricia. "Then I went to a school where, from day one, the teacher introduced me as Pat, without asking or anything. That was an automatic thing, that if you were called Patricia, you were called Pat. "And then I got a bit tired of it, because actually Pat Hodge is not a great combo. When I went to drama school, I was called Trish or Trisha. "There are a lot of people who just call me Hodge, and I think there's only about two, if not three of us (Hodges) in the whole of equity. So now, when I answer the phone, I go, 'Hodge.'' Whether Hodge, Pat, Trisha, or Trish, asked if Dame Patricia Hodge has a certain ring to it, it becomes clear that if she gets another call from the Palace, this grande dame of British acting will take it in her stride. She says: I don't think about it. We should not get prizes for just doing a job. I am an OBE. Do you know what? If it happens, it happens." The new series of Death Valley begins on BBC1 on Sunday, at 8.15pm.
Daily Mirror
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Your house can smell like Kensington Palace with royal-inspired fragrance line
The new line of home fragrances features candles, diffusers and wax melts are inspired by historic royal palaces and their gardens to fill your home with luxurious floral scents One of the first things you notice when you enter anyone's house is how it smells, which is why we all love nothing more than a great home fragrance that keeps things smelling fresh and welcoming. If you've ever wondered what royal abodes smell like, this brand new fragrance line from Freckleface is the perfect way to bring a touch of royalty to your home, with some lovely floral scents that are perfect for summer. Created in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity caring for some of the UK's most iconic heritage sites, the new collection was inspired by the history of several royal palaces and their gardens, including Kensington Palace, Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace. The new range was launched just in time to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show, and includes everything from candles and wax melts to reed diffusers and scented ceramics. Each item in the new Historic Royal Palaces collection is handcrafted and sustainably made, and comes in three distinct scents. You can choose from: Royal Bouquet – Fresh orange blossom with subtle hints of florals and aromatic myrtle Royal Garden – Rose and hydrangea with vanilla Royal Nights – Oud with fresh citrus and notes of bergamot The floral-based scents make this home fragrance collection perfect for the spring and summer months, helping bring a feeling of outdoors inside. One of the top picks from the range is the Historic Royal Palaces Large Candle which is priced at £42 and has a length burn time of up to 40 hours. Each candle is made from 100% vegan soya wax and is paraffin free, with the natural wax ensuring it always burns cleanly and consistently. You can choose which of the three scents you'd like your candle to come in, or alternative if you're struggling with which to pick, the Candle Discovery Set is £45 and gets you all three scents in a slightly smaller size, with each having up to 20 hours of burn time. If you've ever wondered which candles the royals themselves burn at home, we've also got the inside scoop. Kate Middleton reportedly loves Jo Malone's Orange Blossom cologne so much that she made it the scent of her wedding. British Vogue reported that Princess Kate arranged for Jo Malone's Orange Blossom Scented Candles to be placed around Westminster Abbey during the ceremony. Meghan Markle, on the other hand, was noted in The Cut as loving the Bassett Rose Water Candle from Soho House. The candles are hand poured in England, and have notes of lemon, geranium and guaiac woods. However if you prefer something that releases scent constantly rather than relying on lit candles, the £46 Historic Royal Palaces Reed Diffuser allows your home to be constantly filled with one of the three scents from Freckleface's collection. The large 200ml bottle provides you with enough scent to last up to six months, and are perfect for placing next to the bed or in a small cloakroom. Other options include the more affordable Scented Ceramic for £14.50, which is ideal for hanging on your wardrobe or placing anywhere from drawers and suitcases to your car, or the £16 Wax Melt Set. The set gets you nine individual wax melts – three of each scent – with each wax melt offering up to 20 hours of scent release.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The old Etonian who is British culture's best-kept secret
Rupert Gavin is the grandest of arts grandees. The Old Etonian has, over the past five decades or so, produced or financed many of the West End's biggest plays, such as Jerusalem starring Mark Rylance, Tom Stoppard 's Leopoldstadt and A Streetcar Named Desire starring Paul Mescal. He has run both the BBC's commercial arm and Odeon Cinemas, and chaired Historic Royal Palaces and English National Ballet. To all of which he can now add, aged 70, amateur philologist. Gavin has set out to explore how the English language, a tongue originating on a rainy island in northwestern Europe, developed into the most-spoken in the world. Today, against the odds, English is the global lingua franca and has 1.6 billion speakers, about 500 million ahead of Mandarin. To that end, he has written a book, Amorous or Loving? The Highly Peculiar Tale of English and the English, to chart the reasons for the language's success. 'The Chinese think that Shakespeare is the greatest non-Chinese person who ever lived' Why did he decide to embark on such a project as he enters his eighth decade? 'Out of everything I've done, one thing that has been a constant strand within what I do is the English language,' he says. 'Whether that is theatrical production, whether that is writing, songwriting, or whether it is travelling the world, selling Teletubbies programmes and having to explain in 116 different countries what the meaning of the expression 'Eh-Oh' means.' He recalls meeting the Chinese minister for propaganda during his time as BBC Worldwide chief executive. They spent the entire time talking about Shakespeare, 'who the Chinese think is not just the greatest Englishman to have ever lived, but probably think is the greatest non-Chinese person to have ever lived'. The encounter stayed with him, and made him realise that there is 'something very, very special and unique about the language' that cannot be explained solely by British imperialism. One of his theses is that British climatic conditions are key to understanding the formation of the modern English language. The stable supply of food and mineral wealth helped to support a stratified class structure, he writes, while the richness of the land made it attractive to successive invaders. So plentiful was the bounty on offer that, from the Romans to the Normans, the invaders chose to settle for the long term and, by doing so, changed the language too. Such a melting pot inevitably affected the development of the English language into one that has become much simpler than others, Gavin says. 'We lost our genders, we lost our complex suffixes, and we moved to a very straightforward subject-verb-object structure.' English also does not 'use complicated sounds to define meaning' as the likes of Mandarin and Arabic do, and which can be seen as a barrier to learning the language. Gavin's interest in the arts started 'because I wasn't very good at sport'. His father was a businessman who dabbled in film finance for a short time, meaning Gavin was able to badger the 'proper film producers wandering through' the family home. After Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge, he found work adapting books into film scripts, then made his own fortune in advertising at Sharps and Saatchi & Saatchi. Stints in retail (at Dixons) and telecoms (at BT) followed, but all the while he was producing and financing theatrical shows. He was an early backer of the likes of Arthur Smith and Jez Butterworth, and a frequent collaborator with the West End super-producer Sonia Friedman. 'One positive outcome of Western expansion was the expansion of the English language' Gavin is physically towering with a slightly rumpled bearing and is always easy to spot across the lobby of a theatre on opening night. Connected with almost everybody across the arts (his book, for instance, has supportive blurbs from Alan Yentob, Antonia Fraser, Floella Benjamin and Simon Callow) Gavin was, until 2022, chairman of the arts and media honours committee; after seven years in the post, he stepped down. Knighted himself the following year, he now splits much of his time producing theatre, chairing English National Ballet and on the advisory council of the Women's Prize for Playwriting, as well as writing himself. It must keep him terribly busy, I say. 'How does one split one's time? Just cope with it all,' he says. 'If you're choosing only to do the things that really excite you then it's quite easy.' The recreations listed on his Who's Who profile are similarly phlegmatic in tone: they simply read 'theatre producing, writing, gardening'. With the modern penchant for hand-wringing about the ills of the British Empire, Gavin says that an unambiguous good that came from it is the widespread adoption of English globally. 'Everybody argues about what the positives and detriments are of Western expansion and things like that, but I hope that one thing that people can say was a worthwhile contribution was the language.' 'I love the fact that the French now officially sanction 'le wokisme'' A betting man 500 years ago may have been well-advised to back French, not English, to become the dominant language as Latin fell into abeyance – not least because France was a much larger and richer country at that point. Unlike English, however, French is much less flexible a tongue and to this day remains governed by the strictures of the Académie Française, which publishes the language's definitive dictionaries. The ninth edition of the French dictionary was completed last November, some four decades after the previous one, with the addition of 20,000 new entries. 'A big expansion of the French language was heralded and includes these wonderful French terms like 'le wokisme',' Gavin laughs. 'I particularly enjoyed that the French now officially sanction 'le wokisme', but it's only 53,000 words.' By comparison, the Oxford English Dictionary contains more than 500,000 words. Are the French arrogant about their language? 'I would hesitate to comment,' he says, before taking an uncharacteristically long pause. 'But they do have a belief in their cultural exceptionality. And they have that because they don't want the French culture to be trampled on or marginalised or removed. I totally applaud that. It's up to you whether you would describe that as arrogant.' Ironically, we meet over lunch in Theatreland at L'Escargot, London's oldest French restaurant in which Gavin owns a 'very small' shareholding. Situated in a grand townhouse on Soho's Greek Street, it is around the corner from the West End theatres where he has produced, co-produced or co-financed more than 200 shows. Some of his most recent hits include the Benjamin Button musical, Annie Ernaux's The Years and Mark Strong and Lesley Manville starring in Oedipus. This year Gavin set a personal record of netting a haul of 12 Oliviers. 'Theatre is huge for the British. We do more of it than anyone else in the world' Writing his book has allowed Gavin to explore the ways in which oral culture and theatre – from Chaucer to Shakespeare and Dickens – has helped to both shape and spread the English language. That tradition continues today, according to Gavin. 'Look at the impact of our writers, whether it's Jez [Butterworth], whether it's James Graham,' he says. 'Our playwrights are at the heart of our strongest creative pursuits. Now it's not so much people coming to watch a play – it's still hugely important, we still do more of it than any other country in the world per capita – but it's feeding out into our strength in television and film.' One reason that, critics say, there isn't more theatre-going is that ticket prices are too high for many. Gavin gives this short shrift. 'In the West End, our average ticket price is £55… Twenty five per cent of our tickets are sold at £30 or less,' he says. 'There are five per cent of tickets that are sold at £150 or more, but those always go fastest. And we only manage to do the cheaper tickets because some people, for whatever reason, are willing to pay a very high price. What are they getting for a high price? They're getting the day they really wanted, and they're sitting in a seat that they really want… This is a free market. Lots of commentators seem to think that we're a public service market, as opposed to a commercial market.' Gavin adds that unlike, say, an expensive restaurant, a theatre is full of people who are paying vastly different prices for the same experience. 'The odd thing is that for the person paying £300 to be sitting in row E, there'll be somebody sitting in row H who's paying £75. And what the person in row E probably doesn't understand is the person in row H is getting exactly the same show. It is identical.' Are there any actors with whom he had such a torrid time that he swore not to hire them again? 'It would be invidious to mention too many people,' he says, perhaps mindful of needing to cast future shows. There is, however, one dear-departed performer whom he would prefer not to name but was a complete nightmare to produce. 'The fact that he's dead is only partly why I would not want to work with him again.'
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Queen Camilla dons her poppies as she walks through a sea of red and admires 30,000 ceramic flowers
There were already 30,000 ceramic poppies on display - but Queen Camilla brought a few more with her. The royal, 77, sported a pair of eye-catching black leather gloves embellished with the red flowers, along with a a red wool crepe dress by Fiona Clare and black cape, as she visited the Tower of London. 'It was so cold this morning I thought it would be the perfect time to wear them,' she said. She also admired the poppy new display at the Tower of London to mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War. Camilla toured the striking installation, The Tower Remembers, which represents a 'wound' across the inner walls of the fortress, symbolising the enduring sacrifices made during the conflict. Poppies flow down the side of the White Tower, where a frozen 'splash' of the blood-red flowers begins a cascade of poppies through the heart of the fortress, before emerging under St Thomas's Tower. The Tower, which is run by the charity Historic Royal Palaces, still bears the marks of the bombings which killed five people, including a Yeoman Warder during the Blitz. Camilla then walked through a Guard of Honour formed of six Yeoman Warders, and was led onto the lawn to inspect the new installation by project lead Tom O'Leary. There was cheering and applause from the crowd of tourists watching from behind a cordon, and one man shouted: 'God save the King! We all love Camilla! Give us a wave!' The Queen met Yeoman Warder Tracey Machin, along with her son Harrison, five, and D-Day veterans Henry Rice, 99, a former Royal Navy signalman and Richard Aldred, a tank driver in the Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. 'It's very nice to see you,' she told the veterans, 'Not too cold?' Richard handed the Queen a ceramic poppy, while Henry presented one to Harrison and they paused while Poet Laureate Simon Armitage read out a specially commissioned VE 80 poem, In Retrospect, before planting each of the flowers into the ground to complete the installation. Speaking afterwards Henry Rice said: 'Last year I went to Normandy and had the pride and pleasure of meeting His majesty and Her Majesty. I said to her quietly, 'We met last year', she said, 'Yes, I know' and that that is fabulous. 'I mean, why should she remember me?' He described the King and Queen as 'A gentleman and his lady,' adding 'That's truly the best compliment I can pay to both of because that's exactly how I feel about them, and I'm speaking truthfully as well.'He said of the installation, 'Each one of those poppies represents a man that gave his life to allow me, my family, this country, in fact, to live in peace and comfort. 'I don't go around thinking of men that gave their lives and all that sort of thing. But then suddenly, when you're in a situation, you're sitting quietly, or you're out walking in the park, and suddenly it comes into your mind, and you realise exactly what these men did, how I really do thank them, and they are my heroes, all of them. Those that are alive even. 'I was in the Royal Navy, on board ship. These men then left my ship. I was on landing ships, and they ran up the beach into a hail of bullets and everything, and I sat quietly on my ship. 'They were so brave, but I don't know whether I could do it.' The new display, which is open to the public until November 11, uses poppies created for the 2014 installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which saw the Tower encircled by a sea of more than 880,000 ceramic flowers. The 30,000 in use this year are among 40,000 that were bought for the nation by philanthropists Dame Vivienne Duffield and Dame Susie Sainsbury after the original installation and donated to the Imperial War Museum.
