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King Charles III

Conservation of Elephants at the heart of new Jubilee exhibition

Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall

Adding on to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Elephant Family is hosting an exhibition and putting the conservation of elephants firsthand.

Seven giant egg-shaped pieces of art will be on pop-up display around Sloane Square in London’s Chelsea from 16 May to 12 June in honour of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Elephant Family is joining forces with Clarence Court Eggs and Cadogan to produce the giant eggs. After their display, they will be auctioned off to support conservation work. While it also honours Her Majesty, the exhibit will aim to raise awareness of conversation by highlighting the different impacts of collectability and poaching. It is illegal in many countries to take the eggs of wild birds, although the practice continues and can have severe impacts on conservation.

The Eggs of an Era exhibition will feature several designs, with each representing a different decade of The Queen’s reign. These designs are one-off, unique, and use other mediums. Artists designing for the exhibit include Rebecca Campbell, Sasha Compton, Simon Emery, Patricia Mitchell, Özlem Thompson, Tatiana Alida, and Emily Powell.

Elephant Family Chief Executive Richard Hawkes said of the exhibit: “This public art exhibition is an exciting and unique way to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and raise awareness of conservation at the same time.

Art, public spaces and causes have always had a strong connection, and The Elephant Family has a long history of staging events like this – most recently the 2021 Coexistence campaign, which saw 100 life-sized lantana-carved elephants roam London and raised over £3m to support conservation. We hope thousands of visitors will enjoy the challenge of spotting the unique sculptures and taking the opportunity to learn more about conservation.”

The Elephant Family is a registered charity of the British Asian Trust and works to protect Asian elephants from extinction in the wild. The Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales act as Joint Royal Presidents. This isn’t the first time the Duchess has shown her support for the Elephant Family. In 2021, the Duchess praised the Coexistence Campaign as it raised more than £3,000,000 for human-wildlife coexistence projects. The campaign was put on by Elephant Family, which was founded by the Duchess’ late brother, Mark Shand.

People who might be interested in the auction of the eggs can register their interest by clicking here. All proceeds will be used to support conservation work throughout South Asia.

About author

My name is Sydney Zatz and I am a University of Iowa graduate. I graduated with a degree in journalism and sports studies, and a minor in sport and recreation management. A highlight of my college career was getting the chance to study abroad in London and experiencing royal history firsthand. I have a passion for royals, royal history, and journalism, which led me to want to write for Royal Central.