Overview
- Queen Camilla, the museum’s patron since 2008, opened The Fan Museum’s Monarchy exhibition in Greenwich on Thursday, the day after the third anniversary of the 2023 coronation.
- Artist Paul Benney presented her with the finished fan depicted in her official coronation portrait, which she called “so beautiful” and said she would use on special occasions.
- The fan was crafted over about three years by French master maker Frederick Gay, commissioned through the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers, and it includes her favorite flowers, butterflies, her birth constellation, and a dragonfly symbolizing St George and the Dragon.
- During the visit she loaned items from her private collection for display, with two of her own fans on show, and she unveiled a plaque and met founder Helene Alexander along with staff and trustees.
- The exhibition presents about 80 fans from 18th‑century pieces to items marking royal events, showing how museums use crafted objects to tell royal history.