Queen Camilla, Patron, English National Ballet, hosted a reception on Wednesday to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary, a statement issued by Buckingham Palace said.
The royal family’s Instagram account shared several photos and videos from the event hosted by the Queen.
The statement said: “During the event, Her Majesty met staff, dancers and supporters to recognize the company’s celebrated heritage, its innovative creation of new works and its learning and engagement programme.”
It said: “The Queen became Royal Patron of the English National Ballet in June 2024 and visited their east London home, the Mulryan Center for Dance, in September 2024.”
The wife of King Charles III hosted the reception in the Center Room at Buckingham Palace, where Aaron S. Watkin, the Artistic Director of the English National Ballet, and Sir Rupert Gavin, the Chairman, said a few words before Principal Ballerina Sangeun Lee performed ‘The Dying Swan’.
The palace said: “Her Majesty met Sangeun Lee alongside dance advocate and former chairman of the English National Ballet, Angela Rippon and Dame Arlene Phillips, before meeting guests including from the company’s Dance for Parkinson’s and ENBYouthCo programmes.”
It said, “The company was founded in 1950 as the London Festival Ballet by Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, with a pioneering ambition to bring ballet beyond opera houses.”
