The crowned heads of all countries, or almost, paraded in the United Kingdom on Tuesday April 5, 2022. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and husband of Camilla Parker-Bowles, actually found Queen Letizia of Spain for a cultural event bringing their two kingdoms together: the inauguration of The Spanish Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland, a city located in County Durham, in the far north of England.
This reunion was illuminated by the visit to the gallery, the visit to Auckland Castle and began with a very chic, very British hand-kiss that Prince Charles hastened to give Queen Letizia of Spain. The Spanish Art Gallery is Britain’s first and only museum dedicated to Spanish art. It contains works collected by Jonathan Ruffer, a London millionaire philanthropist who adores Golden Age paintings. This inauguration is part of a larger project that tries to restore the image of the city of Bishop Auckland, in decline since the closure of its coal mines at the end of the 20th century.
No inauguration for Jonathan Ruffer
“He thought it was really a shame and sad for the cityexplains Jane Ruffer, his wife. So he said to himself that we had to buy the paintings kept in the castle, but in the end we got the paintings, the castle and its grounds. The question was what to do with it. Because if in the past the city had served the castle, the bishop, we wanted to return the favor.“It took ten years and 200 million pounds – the equivalent of 240 million euros – to grow the collection of the Spanish Gallery, which today contains 120 works by great masters such as Velázquez or El Greco. Jonathan Ruffer, 70, was unfortunately unable to attend the inauguration of this long and expensive project… having Covid-19.