WATCH: Memorabilia and nostalgia
SAXONWOLD – The lecture about Queen Elizabeth II took the audience back to 1952, when she was crowned.
History won’t fade, not if it is up to Selwyn Klass, a presenter on Radio Today, who has a deep appreciation for royalty and the history surrounding it.
On 10 October, Klass presented a lecture for the Decorative Arts Society (Darts) surrounded by South Africa’s own history, at the Distong Military History Museum. His lecture, Through childhood to the throne, focused on Queen Elizabeth II, in the year she turns 90, as Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
The lecture saw a full auditorium of people who share a fascination with the queen, her life before succeeding to the throne in 1952, her royal visit to South Africa in 1947 and eventually her coronation. Some of the audience members remembered either attending the actual coronation or shared unique memories of that time.
Watch a reel from the Queen’s royal visit to South Africa in 1947:
The fascination with royalty remains to this day among many Joburgers and Klass said it was because they grew up in a different era. “I remember the coronation as a little boy. My British granny gave me a vinyl disc of the changing of guards at Buckingham Palace as a gift on Coronation Day. She pinned a rosette of the union jack on my school blazer, took us to tea where I saw a full-length portrait of the queen. I never thought one day I would be in the presence of Her Majesty,” Klass said.
In 1999, the Emmarentia resident met the queen during her last State visit when South Africa hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
“The wonderful thing about the monarchy is that it is an anchor, beyond the politics and the wear-and-tear of the day,” he said.
During his lecture, Klass revealed rare footage of the queen’s coronation and showcased his collection of letters sent and received between himself, Radio Today and the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. A recording of a show he presented in 2012 on Radio Today, Moments in Time, a celebration of her Diamond Jubilee, was among them.
The next Darts lecture will take place on 31 October by Dr Samantha Masters titled Be of good cheer and drink well.
Details: For Darts, Joan Evans on 011 440 1732 or Jill Snaddon on 082 859 6396.
