Sentimental artwork commissioned during the Queen's childhood has gone on display at Windsor Castle for the first time. A series of photos shared on the Royal Family Instagram account have shared a look at the 16 pictures, which commemorate the pantomimes performed by the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, and her sister Princess Margaret while they were living at Windsor Castle during the war.
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The royal siblings took part in a series of pantomimes held in the Waterloo Chamber to raise money for the Royal Household Wool Fund, which supplied yarn to make blankets for soldiers fighting at the Front.
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The royals' Instagram post explains that during the war the series of portraits that usually lined the walls of the Waterloo Chamber were removed from their frames for safekeeping. In their place, 16 ‘pantomime’ pictures were commissioned.
This pantomime artwork was commissioned during the war
The colourful paintings feature characters including Cinderella, Puss in Boots and Peter Pan, which were recreated on rolls of wallpaper. After the war, the original portraits by Sir Thomas Lawrence were returned to the Waterloo Chamber, and the pantomime pictures remained hidden beneath them.
While they have been revealed just once since the war, following the fire of 1992, royal fans can now see the historic paintings for themselves, as they have gone back on display in the Waterloo Chamber.
The artwork has only been since once following the fire of 1992
The Queen will have had the opportunity to revisit the paintings with the Duke of Edinburgh before they travelled to Balmoral for their summer holiday. The royal couple have spent the past four months isolating at Windsor Castle throughout the coronavirus lockdown, but have now travelled up to their Scottish residence just in time for their Windsor home to once again open to the public for the summer, with strict social distancing measures in place.
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