A family who painted a massive Union Jack flag on their home ten years ago for the Diamond Jubilee have painted it black - to pay their respects to the Queen. The Tate family painted their house in the patriotic colours of red, white and blue to win the best decorated house for a Jubilee street party.
But after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, husband Alex, 52 and wife Vivienne, 50, changed the colours on their Teddington home to tones of black, white and grey. The family have even added white and green flowers at the front of their garden to pay tribute to the Queen.
Vivienne, an executive assistant, said: "We always had a plan that when the Queen passed away we would change the house colours as a mark of respect. We thought this would allow us in the future when Charles' coronation happens - to change it back to a normal looking house. But I must say we are loving the new black door."
The mother-of-one from Richmond-upon-Thames said she was helped by nine neighbours to do the paint job on Sunday, September 11. The poignant transformation took them 24 hours.
Vivienne said: "I think the Queen's passing is a huge historical significance - she's touched so many people across the world. We are incredibly lucky to have some great friends and neighbours - so as a mark of respect in our community, we decided to change the colours to show how grateful we are for all that she has done for us.
"It was really lovely because, despite it being very sad, everyone came together and felt a part of something. We had lots of people walking past the house stop to chat too, so the response has been sad but very rewarding."
Vivienne explained how the family went the extra mile when asked to decorate their house back in 2012. She said: "We had moved into the house 18 months before and it was originally an off-cream colour but you could tell it hadn't been painted in years.
"So when we had a decorate your house competition - not that I'm competitive at all - I remember having a look at the front of the house and saying to Alex, 'doesn't it look like a flag?'"
Vivienne admitted the excuse luckily "forced the family to repaint the home" - but other notable British events, like the Olympics and the Golden Jubilee, made them keep it.
Alex, who works in the film industry, added: "Then plan was to convert the house back but for one reason or another it didn't happen. So we are going to keep it like this for a while then turn it normal again - finally."
