Loves of queen’s life take centre stage
Coventry – Corgis, horses and swans are all being put through their paces in a historic warehouse in Coventry ahead of their starring roles in a parade to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign.
One of the procession’s tableaux titled The Queen’s Favourites has been commissioned from Imagineer, an outdoor events company based in the English West Midlands city.
Director Jane Hytch said the royal commission came as a “total surprise”, but that the job was a “huge honour”.
The parade, touching on more personal aspects of the 96-yearold queen’s life, will wind through central London to Buckingham Palace on 5 June.
“When we were given the queen’s favourites ... we thought about what does she love outside of all her duties?” said artistic director Kathi Leahy.
Leahy focused on the queen’s most famous canine companions, the short-legged, big-eared corgis.
A pack of 20 corgi puppets, mounted on wheels, will be stars of the show. The lead puppet is named Susan, after the first corgi given to Princess Elizabeth by her parents for her 18th birthday.
The parade also has a special place for horses, another of the queen’s great passions.
It will bring to life 10 of her most beloved companions: from Peggy, the Shetland pony given to her by father King George V when she was four, to Burmese, the mare she rode several times during annual Trooping the Colour ceremonies to mark her birthday.
The procession, bringing together 140 cast members, will also evoke the annual counting of swans on the Thames. All swans in England belong to the crown.
It will also use boats in a tribute to the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, a former naval commander who died in April 2021. –