Lesley Bellew celebrates her Majesty's many associations with the county
The Queen holds a special place in her heart for Kent, where she and Prince Philip spent many happy days during the early part of their marriage, staying with Lord and Lady Brabourne at their home on The Hatch Estate in Mersham, near Ashford.
Private visits to the Estate gave the newly-wed couple a place to relax and enjoy the Kent countryside with family – Patricia, Lady Brabourne, who became Countess Mountbatten in 1979, was Prince Philip’s first cousin and the Queen’s third cousin.
Talking to me prior to her death in 2017, Countess Mountbatten said: “The Queen was, from the age of about 13, really smitten with Prince Philip.
“We all loved him. It is truly amazing that these two young people met. I cannot think of another couple who would have endured and been such loving support to each other.”
In 1946, the Queen was one of Lady Brabourne’s bridesmaids and, importantly, the wedding gave the public the first glimpse of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip together. They were married a year later and Lady Brabourne was an attendant at the wedding. Over the years Lady Brabourn became Queen’s confidante.
She said: “After they married, the Prince and Princess would come down to Mersham and we enjoyed wonderful family time. We didn’t do anything special, but they could relax and be themselves.
“They loved outdoor life and before she became Queen, in February 1952, the couple would stay in a cottage on the estate, loving the peace and privacy.
“On later occasions they might stay in our house – just the four of us. We would also go to church and sometimes watch my husband and Prince Philip play cricket. The Queen was totally relaxed, sitting in a deckchair supporting her husband just like any other wife.
“Philip was really good on the barbecue and the Queen would always take titbits to feed the ducks or dogs.”
Later outings with Lord and Lady Brabourne included the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh taking Prince Charles and Princess Anne on a trip to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in 1957.
The Kent link continued with regular visits to Benenden School near Cranbrook, where Princess Anne was a pupil from 1963 to 1968.
As friends since childhood the Queen and Countess Mountbatten continued to support each over during some of the most extraordinary events of the late 20th century as well as family worries.
Countess Mountbatten, who was a great-great grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, said: “The Queen has coped well with family difficulties – we must remember the Royal Family goes through problems like most other families.
“She does though have a most marvellous sense of humour. I believe it keeps her going.”
Happy family occasions included the Queen attending Lady Brabourne’s daughters’ weddings at Ashford Parish Church, St Mary the Virgin: Lady Joanna Knatchbull married in 1984 and Lady Amanda Knatchbull in 1987. She had previously attended the church as part of its 500th anniversary celebrations in 1970.
First official visit to the county
The Queen’s first official visit to Kent came a few months before the Coronation when she visited Gravesend in February 1953 following devastating floods.
She has since visited the county on nearly 40 other occasions during her 70-year reign, including the opening of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in 1991 and the Channel Tunnel, Folkestone, in 1994. She gave the royal seal of approval to the art gallery, Turner Contemporary, Margate, in 2011, after it had been officially opened earlier in the year by Tracey Emin.
In 1984, she became the first monarch to visit the County Town since 1799 to open the £10.25m Law Courts in Maidstone before going on to see Chatham Dockyard Trust’s plans for the site to become a visitor attraction. Ten years later, in 1994, she returned to see how the scheme had become a reality.
Kent has a long maritime and military history; as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Engineers the Queen has regularly visited Brompton Barracks, Gillingham. She also said farewell to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, attending the 5 Scots final parade at Howe Barracks in Canterbury in 2013.
Her Majesty, as Head of the Church of England, has handed out Maundy money in Kent on three occasions; Rochester Cathedral in 1961 and Canterbury Cathedral in 1965 and 2002.
On a return to Canterbury Cathedral in 2015, the girls’ choir performed for the first time and on this special day the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh went on to visit The Wing Battle of Britain memorial, where they met some of the last surviving Second World War Battle of Britain airmen, The Few, who were involved in dogfights over Kent against Hitler’s Luftwaffe.
The Queen has twice visited the Royal British Legion at Aylesford, near Maidstone, which provides support for members of the Armed Forces. First for its Golden Jubilee in 1972 and it was the centre of her last visit to the county in 2019.
It is heart-warming to know that even during years when the Queen cannot visit Kent, she gets a taste of the Garden of England when Kent County Show organisers deliver the best of the county’s cherries to Buckingham Palace. Long may the tradition continue!
Proud links to the Palace
Royal jewels
Harry Collins was appointed as Her Majesty the Queen’s Jeweller in 2000 and five years later his jewellers, G Collins & Sons in Tunbridge Wells, received The Royal Warrant, which takes pride of place on his shopfront in the High Street. In 2007 Harry was appointed Crown Jeweller, a five-year term.
Harry told Kent Life: “It’s a personal honour to be the Personal Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen. The Royal Warrant comes from the Queen herself and in that time, over the last 22 years, I have worked on every piece of her jewellery collection.
“When I first met the Queen, I felt both honoured and nervous. A wonderful commission for Her Majesty was the Centenary Rose brooch for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday.
“Now I have a workshop in Buckingham Palace, where six of my 22 craftsmen and women from Tunbridge Wells work when required. It’s a proud link between this royal town and the Palace, particularly during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
“We have got lots to look forward to – my daughter now arranges all major customer events. My son, Josh, creates many of our signature pieces and now runs the business and my nephew Paul is my manager.
“It was a sad and difficult time during the lockdown; we closed for 28 weeks, but we have a loyal client base and they came in straight away when we were allowed to reopen and we made up our sales in just a few weeks, we were lucky.”
Special Beer
Shepherd Neame, of Faversham, will be creating a new beer for the Platinum Jubilee.
Chief Executive Jonathan Neame said: “We were first awarded a Royal Warrant in 1998 for our Grant’s Morella Cherry Brandy, then in 2014, in recognition as a supplier of specialist orders to HRH The Prince of Wales, permission was given for use of the Royal Warrant on bottles of our flagship Spitfire Amber Ale.
“It is a source of great pride that Shepherd Neame is among the elite group of the UK’s finest food and drink producers awarded a Royal Warrant. We pride ourselves on producing excellent beers, and it is an honour to have our efforts recognised with this internationally recognised mark of quality.
“We are excited to confirm that to celebrate our long association with the Royal Family, Shepherd Neame will be brewing a special beer to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”
