Her Majesty The Queen Consort will feature on the Antiques Roadshow this weekend - even bringing along a couple of items to be examined by the long-running BBC show's experts. The special episode was filmed at the Eden Project in Cornwall last summer, when Camilla was Duchess of Cornwall.
She is also patron to the Eden Project’s biggest community outreach initiative, The Big Lunch. BBC One viewers will see presenter Fiona Bruce introducing The Queen Consort to roadshow visitors in the broadcast at 8pm on Sunday, March 5, which is also St Piran's Day in Cornwall, when the patron saint is celebrated.
Fiona learns about Her Majesty’s close connection to Eden and The Big Lunch, which Camilla has supported since 2013 to bring millions of people together annually, helping to reduce loneliness, and strengthening UK communities. Like any visitor to the roadshow, she brought some personal items to share with the experts.
Silver specialist Duncan Campbell is thrilled to see a rare snuffbox from the Royal Collection that was made from Cornish silver, while books expert Justin Croft admires a copy of ‘Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard.’ The Queen Consort describes her love for the poem and her interest in the book’s exquisite binding, which was done in 1899 by the Guild of Women Binders.
Camilla also joins Fiona for a ‘guess the mystery item’ challenge, posed by jewellery specialist Geoffrey Munn. Can they work out the true purpose of three unusual items – a piece of rock crystal, a silver plaque decorated with a pair of eyes and two jewelled arrows?
Peter Stewart, chief purpose officer at the Eden Project, said: “It was a total privilege to welcome Her Majesty The Queen Consort and the Antiques Roadshow team to Eden last summer for what was a real red-letter day for us. Her Majesty has been an incredible supporter of The Big Lunch and has been patron since 2013.
"The airing of this episode is a timely reminder of this special connection as we look forward to the Coronation Big Lunch between May 6 and 8. We hope everyone tuning in this Sunday enjoys what will be a memorable episode of the Antiques Roadshow.”
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
Elsewhere in the show Alastair Chandler comes across a Rolex Submariner bought in Yemen in the 1960s and used by its owner for underwater swimming and spear-fishing. Robert Tilney meets a member of the Goldfish Club bearing his precious Goldfish badge, awarded after surviving a crash-landing in the North Sea.
Cornish treasures spotted by Chris Yeo include a ‘Huer’s horn’, sounded by lookouts on cliffs when they spotted a shoal of pilchards during the height of Cornwall’s fishing industry. Duncan Campbell is delighted to see a rare silver gig trophy, awarded in the Cornish sport of gig racing.
And from the other side of the world, Lee Young is wowed by a Ming Dynasty bronze Buddha, discovered by metal detectors on a beach in Western Australia. Could it have links to a 15th century Chinese treasure expedition or was it left on the beach more recently?
First broadcast in 1979, the much-loved roadshow remains one of the most popular factual programmes on BBC One, with millions of people regularly watching on Sunday evenings. The special episode airs as the country gears up for the Coronation Big Lunch, which is an official part of the celebrations for His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort’s Coronation Weekend, which takes place from May 6 to 8.
Tens of thousands of events are expected to take place across the United Kingdom, bringing neighbours, communities and the nation together in celebration and friendship, and raising community spirits as part of this historic occasion. To find out more or to get involved in the Coronation Big Lunch, go to www.CoronationBigLunch.com
