THE Queen likes Chester’s giant queens – it’s official.
Chester the Giant City’s giant master Dave Roberts and project director Kristine Szulik, part of the team behind the creation of 60 giant Queen Elizabeths, were invited to meet the Queen at a garden party last week where she gave her royal seal of approval to the project.
Earlier this year the duo were invited to Buckingham Palace as representatives of the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Jubilee Millions but just four days before the event, on May 22, they were selected to be formally introduced to the monarch.
Kristine said: “As the Lord Chamberlain introduced us to Her Majesty the Queen, she said that she remembered the giants from her recent visit to Chester Zoo.”
Volunteers had taken four of the Queen Elizabeth giants to the roundabout near the zoo entrance, on the A41, to greet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh when they arrived at the tourist attraction by car on Thursday, May 17.
The giants were then moved to the other side of the roundabout to wave goodbye to the royal couple, following their 45-minute visit.
Kristine added: “Her Majesty was intrigued to know how we’d moved the giants from one side of the roundabout to the other. She and Prince Philip had obviously had a conversation about it in the car. I explained that they are on wheels.”
The Queen then declared she thought the giants were ‘excellent’ and the project ‘outstanding’.
Kristine added: “We could not have asked for a more genuine acknowledgement of all the hard work put in by the giant-making groups across Cheshire West and Warrington.”
The Queen also expressed her delight at visiting Chester Zoo.
Kristine said: “She said that she had really enjoyed her visit to the zoo and that going on the monorail had been a lovely way to see the animals. She said that she appreciated the people who had stood out in the rain to welcome her to Chester.”
Chester’s giant Queen Elizabeths will parade through Chester to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on Monday, June 4, starting at The Cross at 11am.
