The Queen Mother’s Historic Collection
12th August 2014 A recent revelation about Her Majesty The Queen Mother came to light when it was discovered that she had a collection of eyewear that spread across an entire century. The Queen Mother wore spectacles, but rarely in public. She died in 2002, and the administrator of her household approached the Royal Optician, Roger Pope, with a blue box of the Queen Mother’s spectacles and sunglasses. They had been carefully preserved, even though many were decades old, and others had broken components. Among the frames was a design by the German company Marwitz, which the Queen Mother ordered during the 1990’s – she liked the frame so much, that she had the same design made in both optical and sun spectacles.
Eyestylist asked designer Adrian Marwitz, heir to the Marwitz family eyewear history, if he knew the Queen Mother wore his frames.”This is a wonderful surprise,” said Adrian, “and I am very proud of my grandfather because he had a fan in England – and it was The Queen Mother! I am a fan of Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth II. I really think she is a trendsetter. It would be wonderful if she would find my designs and wear third generation Marwitz frames. We have some nice shops in London that carry Adrian Marwitz, so perhaps one day the Royal Family will wear Marwitz frames again!”
The Queen Mother’s eyewear collection starts about 1919, and continues through to the late 1990’s. With the kind permission of HM The Queen, the frames were donated to The British Optical Association Museum. Neil Handley, curator at the Museum said: “We were delighted that the Queen consented to the donation of these items. They represent one individual’s full lifetime of spectacle wearing, spanning an entire century.” www.adrianmarwitz.com www.college-optometrists.org/museum JG
