Charles leads the birthday tributes

TO ''DARLING MAMA''

By Andrew Pierce

The Prince of Wales last night paid an unusually personal tribute to the Queen on her 80th birthday, describing her as his "darling Mama" and as a "wonderful" monarch.

The Prince's televised address, the first from Birkhall, the favourite home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, revealed extraordinary insights into his childhood.

On the eve of the Coronation in 1953 the Queen conducted a mini rehearsal when she went to say goodnight to four-year-old Prince Charles and two-year-old Princess Anne.

Prince Charles said: "I have vivid memories of the Corona­tion; of my mother coming to say goodnight to my sister and me while wearing the Crown so that she could get used to its weight on her head before the Coronation ceremony."

The towering St Edward's Crown, the official Coronation crown, was made for Charles II in 1661 from solid gold and 444 precious stones. It weighs 4.51b (2.04 kg).

The Prince also talked about the pain of separation from his parents as a child when they were away on official tours and at the joy of being reunited on their return.

He recalled "determined attempts to speak to them on the telephone in far-distant lands when all you could hear was the faintest of voices in a veritable storm of crackling and static interference.

"I remember so well, too, the excitement of being reunited with our parents when my sister and I sailed out in the, then, brand new Royal Yacht Britannia to meet them off Tobruk at the end of their Commonwealth Coronation Tour in 1954 – a tour that had lasted over six months and taken in 13 countries," he said.

The Prince, who wrote the four-minute address himself, thanked the Queen for the "many wonderful qualities which she has brought to almost an entire lifetime of service and dedication".

In a message broadcast to the nation on radio and television, he wished his mother the "happiest of happy birthdays" and praised her "remarkable steadfastness and fortitude".

He lavished praise on the monarch as "an example to so many of service, duty and devotion in a world of sometimes bewildering change and disorientation".

He said: "But during all those years she has shown the most remarkable steadfastness and fortitude, always remaining a figure of reassuring calm and dependability."

At the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, the Prince referred to his mother in public for the first tine as "Mummy". This time he said: "For very nearly 60 of those 80 years she has been my darling Mama and my sentiments today are those of a proud and loving son who hopes that you will join with me in wishing the Queen the happiest of happy birthdays, together with the fervent prayer that there will be countless memorable returns of the day."

Prince Charles, 57, paid tribute to the way his mother had adapted at the age of 25 to becoming Queen in 1952.

"It is hard to believe that my grandfather, King George VI, was the same age as I am now when he died and that my mother succeeded him when so young – the same age, in fact, as my sons are now," he said.

"Now I find it hard to believe my own mother, the Queen, is today celebrating her 80th birthday, and it gives me enormous pride to be able to congratulate her publicly in this way, and to thank her on behalf of us all for the many wonderful qualities which she has brought to almost an entire lifetime of service and dedication to her country, to her family, to the Realms and to the' countries of the Commonwealth."

Appropriate venue for a night to remember. Historic King palace, at the heart of the royal botanical gardens, was chosen by the prince of Wales as the setting for last night's birthday tribute to his mother.

The house has a poignant link to the Queen's ancestry as it was where George III, one of the last monarchs to live there, fought his well chronicled battle with mental illness.

The Prince has long been an admirer of the King, known as Farmer George because he experimented with planting crops, who he regards as one of the most misunderstood monarchs of all time.

Kew Palace, a pink lime-washed mansion, has been closed for ten years for a £6.5 million restoration project that only the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall, from the Royal Family, have had a chance to see.

The Queen and the rest of the 26-strong royal party were last night given a guided tour of the four-storey building, home to the Royal Family between 1729 and 1818, which will be officially reopened by the Prince next month.

One of the pieces on show was a 19th century apothecary's cabinet – a reminder of George's illness, which is thought to have been a blood disorder aggravated by medicines containing arsenic. The Queen and her guests also saw a wax cast of George, his waistcoat and shirt.

Michael Fawcett, who owns a society catering company whose major client is the Prince, stage-managed the proceedings down to choice of spring flowers in each vase in consultation with Malcolm Moss, master of the household, and the Prince, who wanted to reflect his mother's taste.

Among them were narcissi from the Scilly Isles, tulips, lily of the valley and white forget-me-nots, favourites of the Prince and his mother.

A dozen musicians from the London Chamber Orchestra, whose patron is the Duchess of Cornwall, serenaded the royal guests with a selection of Handel's Water Music. Handel wrote the Water Music for King George I and first performed it for him at a river party on the Thames in 1717.

An 18th century walnut-cased harpsichord, which was owned by Frederick, Prince of Wales, and then passed to his son, George III, was among the instruments played for the Queen last night.

Outside the palace the Band of the Royal Marines played in the gardens to entertain an estimated crowd of 2,000 well-wishers, including staffs who work for the Queen and the Prince.

A ten minute firework display took place before the meal, which the Royal Family gathered on the steps to watch.

It was set to music from the last 80 years.

The Prince and the Duchess were first to arrive followed by other members of the family including the Duke of York and his daughters the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the Princess Royal, Peter and Zara Phil­lips, and her husband, Rear Admiral Timothy Laurence.

Every member of the Royal Family, from Princess Marga­ret's children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto, and their spouses, were invited at the express wish of the Queen, who wanted a full turnout of the Windsor clan.

The Times, Saturday April 22, 2006

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