With motto 'Ich Dien' and Prince of Wales feathers in gilt, with original red covered seats
Each 30 ¾ in. (78 cm.) high; 21 ½ in. (54.5 cm.) wide; 20 in. (51 cm.) deep

R. Muir, ‘Double Exposure: Lord Snowdon’s Kensington Villa’, World of Interiors, January 2009, p. 142, illustrated in the Studio.
Snowdon and F. von Hofmannstahl (ed.), Snowdon – A Life in View, New York, 2014 , one illustrated p.168.

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

Lot Essay

The Investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969 was a crowning achivement for Lord Snowdon. Personally asked by HM The Queen to oversee the ceremony - as a Welshman, member of the Royal family and foremost a designer, he was an inspired choice, and was created Constable of Caernarvon Castle for the ceremony. The Investiture was a triumph, and when asked about his designs, Snowdon replied 'I am not a modernist for the sake of being modern. I just happen to be alive in 1969'.

Working with his great friend Carl Toms (who had been mentored by Oliver Messel), and John Pound, the brutalist designer from the Ministry of Works, the designs for the ceremony were ground-breaking and celebrated both modernity and antiquitity, in a time when Welsh independence and its place within the Union was at risk.

Snowdon's design for the now famous investiture chair was equally modern, manufactured at the Remploy factory in Bridgend. Taking the design of the Prince of Wales feather from a badge for the Cader Idris Volunteers, a badge Snowdon treasured on his desk for many years.