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Jane Hytch, CEO of Imagineer, stands atop a ladder next to a 10-meter-tall puppet of Lady Godiva at the company’s workshop in Coventry, central England, on May 20, 2022. Photo : Adrian Dennis/AFP.
Amid corgi and horse puppets, nervousness mounts in a large historic warehouse in Coventry immersed in the final preparations for the grand parade celebrating 70 years of Elizabeth II’s reign.
< One part of the parade, titled “The Queen’s Favourites”, was commissioned from Imagineer, an outdoor events company based in the West Midlands city in central England. It was a “total surprise” and a “great honour,” says CEO Jane Hytch.
It is a more personal part of the 96-year-old Queen’s life that will be on display. represented in the parade, which will march through the streets of London to Buckingham Palace on June 5 as part of its platinum jubilee celebrations.
“We thought of what he likes,” says Kathi Leahy, the art director. Dogs and horses were the obvious choice.
In particular, the famous corgis with short legs and big ears of the Queen. About 20 puppets of these dogs, mounted on wheels, will participate. in the show.
The first is named Susan, in honor of the first corgi that her parents gave to Princess Elizabeth for her 18th birthday; birthday. Each one has its own expression. One of them, with brown eyebrows, has been nicknamed Groucho Marx, after the American comedian.
Lady Godiva
And to give them life, it was requested During rehearsals, called “Corgi boot camp,” each of the youngsters who will be handling them is asked to ask “what is Corgi?” type of dog What they have on their hands: “rogue?” “young?” “old?” explains Kathi Leahy.
The parade also provides a special place for Horses, the great passion of Elizabeth II.
Ten of the horses that have counted in the Queen’s life will be represented: from Peggy, the Shetland pony that King George V gave to her. from Princess Elizabeth at the age of four, to Burmese, the mare she rode. several times during “Trooping the Color”, the ceremony that officially celebrates her birthday.
Horses are often depicted with gears, as a tribute to Coventry’s rich industrial past. In this place was born the first British automobile at the end of the 19th century.
To celebrate Coventry, a giant puppet of Lady Godiva, created for the London 2012 Olympic Games, will take part in the 2012 London Olympic Games. in the parade. It pays homage to the 11th century figure who, according to legend, traveled the city naked on horseback to convince her husband, Léofric de Mercie, to lower taxes.
to 140 members of the company, will represent He will also perform the traditional count of swans on the Thames and, using boats much loved by Prince Philip, will pay tribute to the swans. tribute to the Queen’s husband, who died in April 2021 at the age of 99.
” We get a lot of cameras, and it’s not that often that we perform in front of royalty,” notes Jane Hytch, “there will be a lot of adrenaline, we have rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed, I think we will do a great job”.