Six ceremonial items used by Elizabeth II at many of her recent jubilees are going to auction, with all proceeds going towards Cancer Research UK.
Bruno Peek, who was Royal Pageant Master, is behind the upcoming sale at Bonhams, following his own recent diagnosis of terminal leukaemia.
Mr. Peek, a former welder from Gorleston in Norfolk, came up with the idea for beacon tributes for the late Queen’s Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilees.
Having retired in 2024 after four decades of service, he sought permission from Buckingham Palace to sell the artefacts he personally designed, and watched the Monarch, use throughout her reign.
‘I own these items but I could never have sold them for personal gain,’ Peek said. ‘Given that The King and Catherine, Princess of Wales, have both had cancer treatment, I felt it was appropriate to raise money for Cancer Research UK’.
The auction was already being planned when Peek received his own incurable diagnosis, seven weeks before Christmas. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Sandra Chapman Centre at James Paget Hospital, near Great Yarmouth.
‘You realise how much research still needs to go into this dreadful disease,’ he said. ‘It’s even more poignant now’.
The six objects being auctioned are:
-
Millennium torch – a ceremonial torch used by the Queen to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000.
-
Golden Jubilee torch – seen at Elizabeth II’s jubilee celebrations in 2002.
-
Trafalgar weekend torch – used at HMS Victory in Portsmouth in 2005.
-
Diamond Jubilee ‘diamond’ – previously displayed at the Tower of London, before its use by the Queen in 2012.
-
90th birthday torch – used at Windsor Castle in 2016.
-
Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth Nations globe – seen at Windsor Castle in June 2022.
The virtual sale, scheduled for 3-23 March, is estimated to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 for each item. The total collection is expected to raise over £200,000 for the British charity and its research into curing cancer.
Mr. Peek’s time working for the Elizabeth II was filled with fascinating moments. He recalled a technical hitch during the Diamond Jubilee beacon lighting at Buckingham Palace where he whispered to the Queen, ‘Do you mind giving it a little push, ma’am?’.
‘She said, “I don’t mind at all,” and gave it a good shove,’ he remembered, recalling the cheers from the hundreds of thousands on The Mall.
His final encounter with the late Queen occurred just months before her death in September 2022. Despite her failing health, she attended the Platinum Jubilee beacon ceremony. ‘The last thing she ever said to me was, ‘Thank you, Bruno.’ It was a lovely moment I will cherish for the rest of my life’.
