Diamond Jubilee torches help raise £15k for charity

Artefacts used by Queen Elizabeth II which were donated by a former royal pageant master have raised a total of £15,050 for a cancer charity.

Beacon torches, as well as a Diamond Jubilee "Diamond" and a Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth of Nations Globe were donated by Bruno Peek, of Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, who worked closely with the Royal Family for 40 years.

Sold by Bonhams Auctions on 23 March, the Diamond Jubilee "Diamond" garnered the most attention, selling for £4,400.

Following the sale, Peek said: "I hope those that were generous enough to purchase them will treasure them as much as I did, especially as they were used by our late Queen Elizabeth II."

During his work as pageant master, Peek organised the lighting of hundreds of beacons across the world for the late Queen Elizabeth II's Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

He described the role of pageant master like that of a ringmaster, adding that the lighting of beacons had long been used to mark Royal events as an ancient form of communication and unity.

Peek retired from the role in 2024 and announced in recent weeks that he had been diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer.

On receiving his diagnosis, he told the BBC: "You realise how much research still needs to go into this dreadful disease, and so it's even more poignant now that the money is going to go to [the charity]."

Seeking permission from the Royal Family to sell the objects, he said he hoped they would go to "people who love the Royal Family".

The items included a ceremonial Millennium Torch used to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000, which sold for £2,400. A Golden Jubilee Torch, used at the Queen's Jubilee celebrations in 2002, sold for £2,200.

The Trafalgar Weekend Torch, used at HMS Victory Portsmouth in 2005, was bought for £1,300.

The Diamond Jubilee "Diamond", displayed at the Tower of London before its use by the Queen in 2012, sold for £4,400. The Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth Nations Globe, used at Windsor Castle in June 2022, was bought for £3,800.

In a letter sent to Peek, Sophia France from Cancer Research UK thanked him for the donations.

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