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The Duchess switches on the Christmas lights at the famous Burlington Arcade
19th November 2009
The Duchess of Cornwall illuminated the lights at the famous Burlington Arcade this evening.
Her Royal Highness met some of the shopkeepers in the famous covered shopping area.
Burlington Arcade was Britain’s very first shopping Arcade, opened in 1819 to great acclaim and now recognised as a historic and architectural masterpiece.
The Duchess spent more than an hour chatting to the owners and managers of the high-end stores, which sell a range of luxury items from cashmere goods to diamond jewellery.
At the end of her visit, The Duchess was asked to pull an enormous gold tassel attached to a matching piece of rope which disappeared into a gap in an overhead skylight.
But after a boisterous countdown by a large crowd of invited shoppers, she tugged the tassel, only to have it come off in her hand and the rope bounce above her head.
The guests all howled with laughter and The Duchess smiled broadly as she looked around.
After a few moments, the row of 19 geometric light sculptures which lined the arcade's roof twinkled into life followed by a large cheer from all those watching.
The installations were created by the organisation United Visual Artists, which designed the set and lighting for rapper Jay-Z's Madison Square Garden show in New York in September.