THE QUEEN'S PONY
T H E Q U E E N
'
S P O N Y
I was honoured earlier this year to be approached by the Lord High Commissioner to make a gift for him to present to the Queen – a tradition when representing Her Majesty at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
A lot of thought went into selecting an object – not too flashy, not too big... something simple, of good quality, with a little personal touch. I tried to imagine it at the moment of putting it into her hands. A modestly-sized plaque was approved and, after much discussion about a subject, which included among other things, otters, kingfishers, puffins, pine martens and of course corgis, we settled on a Highland garron – a small sturdy pony – at work in the hills of Balmoral. A favourite of HM.
The finished piece, carved from an exceptional elm board that I found at a little estate sawmill in Fife, was delivered by my wife Pat to the Palace of Holyrood – into the care of the Palace Superintendent, thence to the Queen's Purse Bearer and then into the safe hands of the Palace Housekeeper. Sadly the Queen's health and reduced appointments precluded Lord Hodge from presenting the gift himself, but HM's private secretary, who did the honours, passed on her thanks. She was delighted with it.
A lot of thought went into selecting an object – not too flashy, not too big... something simple, of good quality, with a little personal touch. I tried to imagine it at the moment of putting it into her hands. A modestly-sized plaque was approved and, after much discussion about a subject, which included among other things, otters, kingfishers, puffins, pine martens and of course corgis, we settled on a Highland garron – a small sturdy pony – at work in the hills of Balmoral. A favourite of HM.
The finished piece, carved from an exceptional elm board that I found at a little estate sawmill in Fife, was delivered by my wife Pat to the Palace of Holyrood – into the care of the Palace Superintendent, thence to the Queen's Purse Bearer and then into the safe hands of the Palace Housekeeper. Sadly the Queen's health and reduced appointments precluded Lord Hodge from presenting the gift himself, but HM's private secretary, who did the honours, passed on her thanks. She was delighted with it.
