How great conservationist preserved Balmoral’s art
The Duke of Edinburgh arranged for installation of a heating system to protect castle’s priceless treasures
The Queen was pictured sitting by an electric heater while holding an audience with the then PM
The Duke installed a water garden at Balmoral Castle, which he dug out himself with a bulldozer
PRINCE PHILIP devised a special heating system to protect the paintings at Balmoral Castle it has emerged, as the Royal family paid tribute to his conservation work on its estates.
The Palace revealed yesterday that the Duke of Edinburgh was behind an initiative to install a heating system that responded to humidity rather than the outside temperature in order to create a less damaging atmosphere for the castle’s many antiques and artworks.
The Duke’s fervent passion for horticulture and agriculture also led him to re-landscape many of the Queen’s estates and even took the wheel of a bulldozer himself to realise his vision.
The new details come as charities patronised by the Duke reported seeing a rise in donations this weekend following his passing on Friday.
In a memorial released yesterday, the Palace detailed the works the Duke carried out and oversaw on the Queen’s private estates at Sandringham and Balmoral, as well as Great Windsor and Home Parks. It revealed how the Duke took a particularly close interest in the maintenance of the Queen’s beloved Balmoral residence in Aberdeenshire, where she spends August and July.
In the past, visitors have complained about how cold the castle can be, and in 2012 the Queen was pictured sitting by an electric heater while holding an audience with then prime minister David Cameron in its private sitting room.
One of the most notorious complainants was Cherie Blair, who disclosed in her autobiography that her fourth child, Leo, was conceived in part because the castle was “bitterly cold” at night.
However, in more recent times the castle’s energy systems have been modernised, including being fitted with a 2 MW hydro-electric system to provide it with green energy.
The Palace said yesterday: “The Duke suggested a new control of the heating system when the castle was not in occupation, based on a rise in humidity as opposed to a drop in temperature, giving better protection to fabric, paintings and furniture.”
The Duke’s active approach to the royal estates extended well beyond the walls of the 165-year-old castle, as he also completely redesigned its gardens.
Among his innovations was the planting of a vegetable garden, creation of a flowered and paved walk along the garden’s north side terrace and installing a water garden, which he dug out himself with a bulldozer.
The Duke also began the estate’s woodland regeneration project, where sections of its grounds were closed off to allow wildlife to flourish. The scheme has been such a success that now more than 750 acres have been given over to it and it regularly draws researchers and scientists to study its flora and fauna.
The grounds at Sandringham were also a keen focus of the Duke, until he handed over management to the Prince of Wales in 2017. Under the Duke’s care the estate has seen more than 5,000 trees planted every year as well as efforts made to improve the conditions for ground-nesting birds.
At Windsor, the Duke was “instrumental” in creating the Windsor Farm Shop, which opened in 2001. He also redesigned the layout of the gardens on the East Terrace, designed its fountain and created a private garden under the south wall of the castle.
Meanwhile, this weekend it also emerged that the Duke’s charitable legacy is continuing to grow as a number of charities he patronised have reported receiving increased donations.
Since the Duke’s passing, Buckingham Palace has asked well-wishers to make contributions to causes he cared about during his lifetime rather than leaving flowers at the palace gates.
Yesterday, Fields in Trust, which the Duke became president of in 1948 when it was then known as the National Playing Fields Association, said it has seen an uplift in donations.
The WWF, of which the Duke was also president, said it is now setting up a separate donations page for people wanting to make a contribution following his death.