Proud volunteers from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home will take part in the entertainment parade for Her Majesty The Queen and 10,000 guests at The Patron’s Lunch on Sunday 12 June. The Patron’s Lunch is a celebration of The Queen’s patronage of over 600 charities and organisations – including Battersea – on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
The historic event falls on the last day of National Volunteers’ Week, which has been stretched out across 1–12 June this year for the occasion. Rob Carter from Ringwood, Hampshire, an Events and Community Engagement volunteer at the Home’s Old Windsor centre, Berkshire, is one of approximately 20 volunteers and staff members taking part in the parade. Rob explains why he jumped at the opportunity: “Three years ago I was volunteering at Battersea, London, at a ‘Kitten Shower’ event. My role was to look after the Royal Kittens – it was just before the birth of Prince George and the kittens were named based on potential Royal baby names. At the end of the day there was just one kitten that had not found a home, a black kitten named George. He had been found in Hackney – where I was born – and my wife is a very strong royalist so it was only right that George should live with us. We have since adopted two more cats from Battersea named William and Kate.”
Nathalie Ingham from Putney, London, a Senior Canine Behaviourist at the charity, is one of the staff members volunteering in the parade. She was proud to meet The Queen during her visit to Battersea in March 2015 and has another Royal connection through her role at the Home. “Battersea rehomed a gorgeous Labrador named Shadow to Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in 2008. He settled in well but had some minor behaviour issues and so I visited Kensington Palace to help train him. The cheeky boy had been pinching the staff's high heels from under their desks and needed his recall improving as he had been a little playful around the grounds!” Rob and Nathalie will be joined by 1,500 volunteers representing each of the 600 charities and organisations. With an audience including HM The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, they are taking up a once in a life opportunity.
The Queen became Battersea’s Patron on 18 May 1956 and has visited the Home three times. In March 2015, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen visited Battersea’s London centre to open the new state-of-the art Mary Tealby kennels and was introduced to Corgi Beama, an appropriate resident at the time.
Members of the public can watch the entertainment parade and the day’s Royal proceedings either live on BBC One or via live screenings in nearby St James’s Park or Green Park. Fans may also wish to purchase a commemorative HM Queen Elizabeth II 90th Birthday Charity Medal and can select to donate profits from the sale to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.