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‘The Royal Family: A Personal Portrait’
features Mr Edwards’ personal accounts of meeting members of
the Royal family, complete with his own photographs. The book will
be released later this year on the 25th March.
As a self-confessed Royalist, Colin first became interested in the
Royal family when he watched Her Majesty The Queen’s coronation in
1953. Around 20 people crowded round the 14 inch television set at
his childhood home in North Wales to witness the historic moment
and, at just 12 years old, Colin was mesmerised by the spectacle of
the Royal service.
Colin made scrapbooks about the Royal Family and bought books on
Royalty with his pocket money. He took his first photograph of the
Queen in 1977, at the Silver Jubilee. Since then, spanning over a
30 year period, he has amassed a large collection of personal Royal
photographs.
The 192-page book features Colin’s own, never before published,
photographs of The Queen, the late Queen Mother and Diana, Princess
of Wales. It also includes anecdotes of meetings with family
members; Edwards describes Her Majesty as “warm and friendly.”
He has become a regular face in the crowd at Royal appearances,
travelling from his home in North Wales. He is often recognised by
The Queen, who has been known to greet him in the crowd, as well as
other members of the family. At such appearances, Colin often
presents The Queen with framed photographs he has taken and some of
which are now in The Queen’s personal photo collection.
Colin was granted early retirement which has enabled him to devote
even more time to Royal watching. He hopes to continue taking many
more photos of the Royals in future as the younger members of the
family, such as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry,
continue to increase their royal duties, whilst Her Majesty and The
Duke of Edinburgh slow down their schedules.
Photo credit: Colin Edwards/Candy Jar Books]]>
