On Monday 9 June 1958, our late Queen, Elizabeth II and her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh visited Ardingly during the College’s centenary celebrations. The visit included an hour-long tour of the school, and it has been said that it was possible for some years to identify the route of the tour because of the new paint!
The Annals of September 1958 described the scene that greeted the royal couple on the Green: “In full view of all the visitors and to the sound of the military band, the royal couple watched some members of Junior House practising their PT displays and the 1st XI practising in the nets. The Queen was amazed at the exercises being performed by some extremely small Junior House boys, and the Duke in characteristic fashion, went over and spoke to a number of them.”
The visit concluded with a tree-planting ceremony. The Queen’s Spade is now housed in a display case in the College Archive, as is the pen used by Her Majesty to sign a royal portrait during the visit. As the write up in the Annals concluded, “it was a day that no one will ever forget”.
