Queen Camillas own treasures to be valued in Antiques Roadshow special

2023-03-03

Camilla, the Queen Consort, will have two of her own special personal items valued by Antiques Roadshow experts when she guest stars in a special episode of the BBC show, it has been revealed.

The unusual show was filmed in Cornwall at the Eden Project last September, and features the Royal getting involved in the programme's Guess the Mystery Object game.

Meeting the team and host Fiona Bruce, Camilla, who will be visiting France and Germany with King Charles during the first official visits of their reign, brought along a rare snuffbox from the Royal Collection made from Cornish silver.

She also had a copy of Elegy In A Country Churchyard by poet Thomas Gray to be examined.

Silver specialist Duncan Campbell was thrilled to be able to examine the snuffbox due to it being the first all-English silver he had seen in his career.

Meanwhile, books expert Justin Croft also admires Camilla’s copy of Gray’s work as she describes her love for the poem on the one-off show.

The pair also discuss the book’s special binding, which was done in 1899 by the Guild of Women Binders.

Later in the episode, Camilla and Fiona attempt to guess the true purpose of three unusual items offered up by jewellery specialist Geoffrey Munn.

Among the items is a piece of rock crystal, a silver plaque decorated with a pair of eyes and two jewelled arrows.

Bruce, who has presented Antiques Roadshow since 2008, said the special instalment was a fantastic experience because Camilla was "terrific fun".

“She put everyone at ease and was keen to take part in the programme and chat to everyone," the host shared.

“The members of the public that came along with their items that day got a bit more than they bargained for as they had no idea The Queen Consort was coming!"

The host added: “Her Majesty got stuck into our Antiques Roadshow games, though Guess The Mystery Object had us both stumped.”

The presenter also discussed with Camilla her close connection to the Eden Project and her support for The Big Lunch, a charity based at the Cornish site which encourages people to come together with their local community to share a meal.

The Cornish attraction’s two enormous “biome” greenhouses hosted the show’s various experts, and crowds of local people also brought their family heirlooms to be valued.

During the visit, Camilla also stopped to talk to members of the public including 16-year-old Dylan Kilpatrick and his mother Amanda Fishlock, from Cornwall, who had brought along a painting by their ancestor, 19th century artist Robert Ponsonby Staples, featuring a family on a seaside outing.

Ms Fishlock explained the artist was a relative on her mother’s side, which is how the painting came to be in their possession.

When asked what Camilla had thought of the painting, Dylan said: “She said she was jealous, she said she really liked the figure in the foreground.”

The episode will air Sunday 5 March at 8pm on BBC One.

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