Roger Askew To Give Talk About How The Royals Celebrate Christmas

---

The Arts Society South West London's next lecture

Picture: Queen Victoria and royal family with Christmas tree

The next talk to be presented by The Arts Society South West London is entitled ‘A Right Royal Christmas: How Our Royal Family Has Celebrated Christmas From The Middle Ages To The Present’.

This lecture will be delivered via Zoom on Monday 14 December at 8pm and will be available for two subsequent weeks.

Non-members are welcome to view it for a donation of £5.

For more information visit the society’s website or contact Gwen Hewitt on gwen@the2hewitts.plus.com

This country’s royal families have always celebrated Christmas. William the Conqueror made sure of his claim to the English throne by being crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. Feasting on a spectacular scale characterised medieval Christmases – including crane’s flesh, peacocks and herons. Present-giving ranged from the extravagant – the City of London presented Richard II with a camel and a pelican – to the witty – Mrs. Thatcher sent the Queen a pair of yellow washing-up gloves having seen Her Majesty doing the dishes without any.

Roger Askew was a chorister at Wells Cathedral School and a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He combined a teaching career with professional singing in London, and after a further degree in Music became Director of Music at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College in Edinburgh. He is President Emeritus of The Stoke Poges Society and Chairman of the Arts Society Windsor.

The Arts Society South West London promotes the appreciation and study of decorative and fine arts through lectures and visits. It also encourages heritage volunteering and support of Young Arts.

November 13, 2020