Of the many respectful tributes to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II published in the past days, there has been precious little regarding her support of classical music.
I was fortunate to witness her opening of the Snape Maltings Concert Hall in 1967, a mammoth conversion project for that area at that time, and I well remember the warmth and grace with which she conducted herself on that occasion, Prince Philip a step behind her as always. Two years later, the Maltings was gutted by a devastating fire, necessitating a complete rebuilt from the ground up. Remarkably, Britten managed to have it up and running again in time for the 1970 Aldeburgh Festival. Although there was no obligation for Her Majesty to pay a return visit, having already officially opened the venue, return she did – commenting that she hoped not to be asked back a third time! This is just one of the many occasions hardly chronicled by today’s historians, but which made Elizabeth II our most cherished and beloved monarch.