The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will be in Kent on Thursday 26th March where they will visit the National Memorial to the Few in Capel-le-Ferne. Following their visit to the national memorial, Her Majesty and Prince Philip will attend a service at Canterbury Cathedral.
The visit to the National Memorial to the Few will see The Queen open The Wing, the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust’s new visitor and education centre. Upon their arrival to the memorial, The Queen and Prince Philip will be greeted by Prince Michael of Kent who is Patron of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust and Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon, President of the trust.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust was founded because of the efforts of Wing Commander Geoffrey Page, a Hurricane pilot who was shot down during the Battle of Britain. In the 1980s, 40 years after the Battle of Britain, Page realised that there wasn’t a national memorial to the men he had flown with some four decades previously. As a consequence of his efforts, the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust was founded and so too was the National Memorial to the Few- a lone pilot looking out over the English Channel- unveiled by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
The Battle of Britain was the Luftwaffe’s attempts to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force from July to September 1940. Their ultimate failure was a turning point in the Second World War and in turn protected Britain from a German invasion.
Whilst at the memorial, The Queen and Prince Philip will get the opportunity to view a video wall as well as other special effects that bring the Battle of Britain to life. These videos and special effects will also show the royal party just what life was like for ‘The Few’ during the summer and early autumn of 1940. Trustees, supporters and volunteers of the trust will also get their chance to meet with Her Majesty and His Royal Highness before The Queen and Philip move on to a dedicated education area where they will witness local schoolchildren learning about the Battle of Britain.
The new ‘Wing’ building that The Queen is set to open is home to the high-tech ‘Scramble Experience’, which tells the story of the Battle of Britain. It is also home to the Geoffrey Page Centre, a dedicated teaching space for schools to use. The Queen and Prince Philip will visit both of these centre’s on their visit to the memorial. The ‘Wing’ building follows the wing plan of R J Mitchell’s most iconic fighter, the Supermarine Spitfire. The building follows the Spitfire’s uplifted wing shape and also has a first floor café that looks straight out across the English Channel.
The Supermarine Spitfire is one of two aircraft credited with doing the most to win the Battle of Britain in 1940.
At the conclusion of their visit to the National Memorial to the Few, The Queen and Prince Philip will visit the ‘Cockpit Cafe’ where they will meet with a group of ‘The Few’, surviving RAF airmen who fought during the Battle of Britain. The royal party will then witness a flypast of a Hurricane, Spitfire and Typhoon after which Her Majesty will unveil a plaque commemorating the opening of ‘The Wing’.
The Queen and Prince Philip will visit Kent on Thursday 26th March.
Following the visit to the National Memorial, Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh will make their way to Canterbury Cathedral. Upon their arrival to the cathedral, The Queen and The Duke will attend a private lunch before they are present at a service at the cathedral.
Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Founded in 597 by St Augustine, Canterbury Cathedral is arguably the oldest institution in the English speaking world. The cathedral has bore witness to many historical events in its lifetime and perhaps the most famous of these events was the murder of Archbishop St Thomas Becket in his own cathedral on 29th December 1170. Thomas Becket was murdered by four knights on the orders of King Henry II.
Whilst at the cathedral, The Queen will unveil two statues in honour of her Diamond Jubilee. Following the service, Her Majesty and Philip will follow the Procession to the Great West Door where they will be introduced to the sculptor and stonemasons of the statues. The Queen will proceed to unveil two statues of herself and of The Duke of Edinburgh.
The statues were commissioned by the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The two new statues will compliment the two statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert near the cathedral’s West Door. The statues have been carved by Nina Bilbey who since 2000, has specialised in stone carving and is currently Senior Carving Tutor at The City and Guilds Art School London.
The Queen’s first visit to Canterbury Cathedral came in 1946 when she accompanied her father King George VI and her mother Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth returned as Queen in 1965 when she performed the Maundy Money Ceremony at the Cathedral.
The conclusion of The Queen’s 2015 Canterbury Cathedral visit will see her and Philip attend a brief reception for staff and supporters of the cathedral.
Photo Credit: Northern Ireland Office/ MTHurson/Harrions
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