The Queen took a shine to a diamond ring worn by Charles Dickens during his lifetime and quipped “I won’t nick it” after holding the jewellery. Camilla lightened the mood after being told the story of how Dickens’ sister-in-law Mary Hogarth died in his arms after collapsing the night before and he took her ring as a keepsake. The Queen heard the tale when she visited the Charles Dickens Museum, established in the writer’s only remaining London home, to celebrate its 100th anniversary and hear its patrons, actors Miriam Margolyes and Simon Callow, read extracts from his works and letters. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Morning Cherries, how are you?
00:07Very nice, lovely isn't it?
00:11Good morning Rebecca.
00:13Good morning isn't it?
00:14Yes, we are preparing for summer aren't we?
00:16OK, I'm strong and I feel good.
00:23Good morning.
00:24Good morning your Majesty.
00:27This is the Dickens Fellowship Presidential Medal, and so you've become a president for
00:42two years.
00:43Mark, you've done it before.
00:44I've done it before, yes.
00:45I'm the president of the Dickens Fellowship.
00:46It was a fellowship that founded the museum originally, and in fact on the Fellowship
00:52Forum in 1902.
00:53Some of the items that relate to her, in fact her engagement ring was made at her home.
01:00It's a snake.
01:01Yes, it is a snake.
01:02So the Victorian symbol.
01:03So this is one of our special exhibition rooms, we have several in the museum, and I'll present
01:12to you Leo Roth, who's our operations manager.
01:15It's absolutely fantastic.
01:17Thoroughly enjoyable.
01:18But that's enough from Dickens.
01:19I wouldn't say that.
01:20I wouldn't go that far.
01:21You have your credits expanded.
01:22Yes.
01:23Much like Dickens himself.
01:24You can see it's very faint.
01:25This is a preparatory drawing, his first time getting his ideas on paper, and yet we can
01:26recognise Scrooge instantly, can't we?
01:27Despite the adaptation, Dickens's words really come through.
01:28much like Dickens himself with the satire. And you can see it's very faint, so this is
01:40a preparatory drawing, his first time getting his ideas on paper. And yet, we can recognise
01:45Scrooge instantly, can't we? Despite the adaptations, Dickens's words really come
01:51through.
01:52May I introduce you to Sandra Lyons-Timbrell, the Chair of our Board of Trustees.
01:57Hello.
01:58Good to meet you.
01:59So how long have you been Chair?
02:00I've only been Chair since September of last year, I think, but I've been with the Museum
02:01since 2020, so it's a good time to start.
02:02Hello again.
02:03Oh, I'm so glad to see you.
02:04I love our meeting like this.
02:05Did you get the kiss?
02:06Very nice to see you.
02:07Isn't it lovely to be here?
02:08Isn't it wonderful? Now there, we're going to have you in full cry.
02:09We picked these two for me to read, and some more for you.
02:25So why don't I just read this.
02:26They've left some for me to read and some more for you to read.
02:28Anyway, here we go.
02:29This was written in 1863, which was seven years before he died.
02:33I'm just showing my knowledge, a little bit.
02:39My dear Sir, since my whole clock was sent to your establishment to be cleaned, it has
02:46gone, as indeed it always had, perfectly well, but has struck the hours with great reluctance,
02:52And after enduring internal agonies of a most distressing nature, it has now ceased striking altogether with whom the clock can confer,
03:02I think it may have something on its works that it would be glad to make a clean breast of.
03:09Faithfully yours, Charles Dickens.
03:13For the sergeant to be put on his horse at his own residence, and for us to mount at the place where the animals live.
03:21It was Christmas time, and he had been out in the town, so to speak, when he wrote this letter to his friend.
03:27Be punctual and don't place too much reliance on our excellent friend Warburton.
03:32I arrived home at one o'clock this morning, dead drunk, and was put to bed by my loving missus.
03:40We're just going to Chapman's sister's quadrille party, for which, you may imagine, I feel remarkably disposed.
03:47No, no, certainly not, but his dramatic readings were something else.
03:54He could fill huge halls at James's Hall, 10,000 people, before, you know, today you've got everyone radio-miked for performances in our theatres.
04:03Did he have a very good voice, like he used to?
04:06He worked extremely well.
04:08We all love you, you should know that.
04:12I feel much better for knowing it.
04:16The more interesting it becomes, though, I suppose.
04:19Not really, but certainly you keep there's so much to learn.
04:26And this is Oliver.
04:28But you're an actor.
04:30I am indeed. I'm the only one in the family that's trained.
04:34I trained at Lander, yes.
04:37What's your favourite?
04:39I have to say A Christmas Carol, because when I was very, very young, I watched a Muppets Christmas Carol.
04:46And I didn't think it was anything to do with my relation, I didn't know who he was at the time, I thought it was a Muppets thing.
04:52And it wasn't until much embarrassingly later that I realised that actually Dickens himself had wrote it.
04:58Mary was the younger sister of Catherine Dickens.
05:01No relation to the painter Hogarth, that's Catherine's maiden name.
05:05So age 17, she comes to live in this house with a couple, very common for younger unmarried sisters to live with their married sisters,
05:12to help with the babies and to learn how to keep the house in your own right.
05:16And very sadly in this room occurred an absolutely tragic episode.
05:21Mary collapsed one evening.
05:23They came home from the theatre, they went up to the drawing room for drinks, all seemed well, no previous signs of ill health.
05:29They retire to bed about 1am, and then Dickens in bed next door, here's a crash and a bang.
05:34He runs in, Mary's fallen out of bed, he takes her in his arms, she seems to have semi-collapsed,
05:40they don't know what's wrong with her, they call for two doctors,
05:43and for the next sort of 20 hours Dickens sits with her and feeds her sips of brandy and water,
05:49they call for two doctors but no one seems to know what's wrong,
05:52and tragically she passes away in his arms the next day.
06:05It's quite lovely.
06:07It's rather special.
06:09Thank you very much.
06:10I rate Nicky.
06:14And just before we leave this room, I'll point out in this quiet little corner here,
06:18I sometimes call this the room of death because no one knew that Dickens wore spectacles, he was quite a vain man.
06:24Oh I see, so he always took them off when...
06:27Yes, he'd be horrified that we were standing here today looking at him on his deathbed and wearing spectacles.
06:32He'd probably be more horrified by the spectacles than anything else.
06:36Our wonderful volunteers, they're all surrounding us here.
06:50I come here every Sunday to avoid shit.
06:53Oh right.
06:56You do take people, right?
06:58Yes, we take people and sit in the marines.
07:02It comes along with something new.
07:15This is a copy of A Christmas Carol, signed by members of the Dickens family.
07:21And we have Cathy, who's one of our garden volunteers, who has a geranium for you.
07:27Oh, good.
07:32No, I'm just kidding.
07:38This is my second visit and I can't get over how it... I don't quite remember how long ago it was I came the first time,
07:45but it's filled up so much since then.
07:48You've obviously acquired a lot more objects, Dickensian objects, and I think it's absolutely wonderful.
07:56And I just wish I had more time to see more, but as always, I'm always rushed at the same time.
08:03We'll come again.
08:06Oh, thank you so much.
08:08Perhaps I could slip that privately and have a quiet talk.
08:11Please do.
08:12Anyway, thank you all very much.
08:17Where are we?
08:18I'll go on the other side.
08:19Thank you so much.
08:20There we are.
08:21I've just had time, but I'm pretty tired.
08:24What are we supposed to do?
08:25Smile.
08:26Don't smile!
08:28I want to give you a present.
08:31Now, this is the other one.
08:33This is Leon Austin.
08:34It's living, isn't it?
08:36And you'll enjoy that. Your Majesty will enjoy that.
08:39Janet Todd.
08:40Yes, somebody I was at Cambridge with, and she's a specialist on it.
08:46Thank you very much.
08:47Because one has to include the others.
08:49Yes, of course you have to.
08:51It's actually proved that ten minutes of reading a day reduces stress by 20%.
08:57Does that include reading to daily mail?
09:00No!
09:02You'll get it now.
09:04That's a round. That's a balloon.
09:10Anyway, interestingly, I shall leave you.
09:15It is absolutely true.
09:17Fabulous.