The Royal Throne. I Rescued it
A unique royal event led to a unique rescue. This is a true story.
This is one of my “Me and …” stories … true stories from my life. №.8: ‘Me, and a Royal Throne’ A true story that ends by offering you a most exciting opportunity. One that, if you take it up, may make you famous. You’ll see your opportunity at the end.
The Kiribati cushion (above) was a special ‘throne’ made for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in October 1982 when she and the Duke of Edinburgh paid a royal visit to that Pacific nation, arriving on Her Majesty’s Yacht: ‘Britannia’.
Kiribati, formerly known as The Gilbert Islands, and a British protectorate colony in the Central Pacific, gained its independence in 1979 when this nation-of-many-islands took on the name: ‘KIRIBATI’ (pronounced ‘Kiribass’).
When the Queen visited the country three years later, my wife and I were invited to the national stadium by President Tabai for a special welcome ceremony.
Our Presidential invitation card indicated exactly where we were to sit in the grandstand on the concrete of the stadium’s terracing, at position 126! No seats, just concrete!
On arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to see small cushions placed on the concrete surfaces.
Gilbert Islanders didn’t have a cushion-sitting tradition. (Flat woven-pandanus mats placed on the floor had always been the custom) so, when we saw these small cushions we realized that they must have been made especially for the royal visit.
When we took our seats, waiting for the Queen’s arrival, we had a thought: “Wonder whether the Queen will have one of these small cushions too?” and when we looked along the front row of concrete tiers, there we saw it; a magnificent throne-like cushion measuring some 50x40cm, and filled to a depth of 15cm for comfort! a one-off special ‘made for Her Majesty’. Made from woven-pandanus leaves (stained to form the words ‘KIRIbATI’ and E II R). Would the Queen say: “Quite splendid” when she saw it? For it was!
When the Queen and the Duke took their seats, the ceremony began. There were speeches by The President (welcome) and the Queen (in response).
The royal couple then took a tour around the stadium area in the back of a Land Rover vehicle acknowledging school and community groups gathered on the stadium's central ‘pitch’, and the local residents crowded around the stadium perimeter.
When the stadium proceedings were completed, the Queen was taken to the nearby Presidential residence for ‘afternoon tea’ (that great British tradition!), and the local crowd around the edges of the stadium watched a football match between a Kiribati team and a team from HMY Britannia. We watched it too (from our raised vantage point) though many other ‘concrete-guests’ had gone home by then.
At half-time in the match I went down to pitch-level to chat with the referee who was a friend of mine, and that’s when all the kids from around the stadium’s edge, seeing the near-empty concrete terracing of the grandstand, raced across to get a better vantage point for the second half.
That’s when I got concerned for the throne.
Are you thinking what I was thinking at the time? Bet you are! If not, here’s what I was thinking:
***** “Is the Queen’s special throne still there, and is it safe?” *****
I could see, even from below, that the kids were having lots of fun throwing the small cushions around (the small ones like those my wife and I used), and my thought was certainly: “Is the Queen’s throne safe?”, but what could I do?
Before I had a chance to think anything more, I saw my wife descending the steps from her seat above as if coming down a stairway from heaven. And what was she carrying? You guessed it, the royal throne.
But having rescued it, what to do next?
We couldn’t knock on the President’s front door and ask for the Queen! (‘Knock, knock is the queen coming out to play? We‘ve got a present for her’)
There was no-one at the police station, (the only police station on the island); they were all ‘occupied’. And to exacerbate matters, the Queen would be departing Kiribati later that same afternoon.
So this is what we decided:
Completing the rescue: Knowing that we would be leaving Kiribati at the end of that year to return to England where we then had our main residence, we decided to take the ‘throne’ back with us, and then (we promised) to somehow present it to Her Majesty some time later, for her birthday maybe, or to coincide with a special coronation anniversary and if this wasn’t appropriate, perhaps offer it to a museum.
However, our future world-locations were to change, and we would find ourselves only briefly in England, then in Papua New Guinea, then England briefly again, and finally permanent residence in Australia, our current home.
Never long-enough in England to fulfil our presentation promise.
The royal cushion has travelled with us throughout these adventures, and is currently in the safe-keeping of a small private museum along with associated documentation.
I am writing this story in August 2021 and of course, COVID-19 has gotten in the way too!
We are still wanting to fulfill our ‘promise’ of presenting it to the Queen or offering it to a museum.
2023 update:
Sadly, the Queen Elizabeth died last year, and now Charles III is King. But the royal throne that was made for Elizabeth surely still needs a proper resting place … an appropriate museum? … maybe a special gift for King Charles. He would surely appreciate it as a memorial to his beloved mother.
So, what can we do now? How to do we do justice to this unique item? We are open to all suggestions so, if you can think of ‘a workable answer’ why not sent your suggestion to Fred in an email: Fred’s email link
If your suggestion is actioned, you will be given the credit, and you’ll be acknowledged appropriately.
This is your chance to become famous … in a very royal way!
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“Me” Story №8: “The Royal Throne. I rescued it” written by Fred: writer on Medium * * * * * © Fred Ogden 2021 * * * * *
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