| Philip Sees Another Face of The Queen |
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| Written by Joanne Leyland | |
| Wednesday, 22 February 2006 | |
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Prince Philip has opened Britain's first museum devoted to
celebrating the cartoonist's art. The Cartoon Art Trust's museum in Bloomsbury in London houses a multi-million pound collection of cartoons documenting life in Britain from the 18th Century to the present day.  The museum is the result of a ten-year campaign and fundraising initiative led by ex-PM Margaret Thatcher's former Cabinet Minister, Lord Kenneth Baker, who is a huge fan and collector of cartoons. On his visit to the Museum, the Duke of Edinburgh once again came face to face with with cartoonist Trogg's Golden Jubilee image which shows the Queen pulling pints behind the bar of the Queen Vic pub made famous in TV soap Eastenders. The Royal Family have long been the subjects of the often hilarious, sometimes cruel, cartoonist's pen. Despite reports alleging Prince Philip was offended at the mocking of the Queen by a TV comedienne during last year's Royal Variety Performance, he is in fact a good sport when it comes to jokes about his family, especially when they are portrayed in the cartoons which feature in the national Press. Philip is such a fan he has even been known to track down a cartoonist so as to buy an original piece of work, often one in which he or other members of his family feature. The Duke of Edinburgh isn't alone in enjoying, rather than enduring, the wit of such famous British newspaper cartoonists as Mac, Griffin, Jak and the many more who make us smile over our breakfast. Prince Charles, who is famous for his rather whacky sense of humour — borne of a love of the Goons comedy act — is also a cartoon collector, as was ex-wife Diana...but she wasn't quite so respectful of the cartoonists work, or her former relatives! Visitors to Kensington Palace were often shocked when, on their trip to the guest toilets, they came upon cartoons of Charles and Camilla hanging on the walls. It was a display Diana herself had overseen and always found highly amusing.  The Princess also enjoyed other examples of humour directed at her Windsor relatives. Shopping in Kensington High Street one Christmas in the early 1990s, Diana was spotted picking up the boxed video of Pallas, a Channel Four comedy series which incorporated the voices of impersonators of the Royal Family over video footage of the Windsors on and off duty (the footage in the series was filmed by Mike Lloyd, some of whose video you can enjoy watching here on The Royalist website). The two series' of the comedy show enjoyed great success, portraying as it did the Royal Family (including Diana) as a real-life version of the American soap Dallas. Considering the often remarkable, sometimes unbelievable, stories which continue to emerge from behind the Palace walls, there's no doubt that Charles, Camilla, William and Harry et all will continue to be a favourite subject of cartoonists for many, many years to come. Please feel welcome to offer your opinions on this and any other royal story by visiting our Royal Forum or via our Comments section below. Comment on this article
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