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A knitted queen in mourning has appeared in public - at the window of a Deal grandma.
Prolific crafter Pat Wilson has handcrafted the woolly display and showcased it as a mark of respect following the death of Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.
Complete with a corgi and and an off-cut of tissue to dab the tears, the renowned fundraiser revealed Her Miniature Highness was in fact the first knitted figure she ever created.
Mrs Wilson said: "She has been in and out [of the window display] and I'm very fond of her."
It was for the much celebrated wedding of Prince William and Kate in April 2011 that she got the inspiration from a book by Fiona Gobel called Knit Your Own Royal Wedding.
So she bought the wool and her needles got clinking.
Mrs Wilson's displays are praised for "capturing the likeness" of those she portrays and are usually topical with a comic twist.
Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have gone on show a few times.
There have been Brexit and Olympic themed window exhibitions that were very popular too. Mrs Wilson recalled people would even consult the window of her Griffin Street home to be updated on the Olympic scoreboard and see which of our competitors had won medals.
She takes joy in hearing people laugh and comment on her creativity.
There was a little teddy knitting his own scarf. Months on, the bear's neck-wear is 100ft long and boasts every colour of the rainbow a few times over.
He even inspired a young girl to take up the pursuit herself.
But the Duke of Edinburgh had not escaped the knitting needle during his lifetime.
When Captain Tom made headlines for doing laps of his garden, Mrs Wilson scripted that the senior royal was considering doing it himself - but in his Landrover.
It's innocent humour that stems from respect.
"I think it's very sad he has died," she said. "The Queen must be devastated she has known him all his life since she was just 13.
"He was an extra-ordinary man - a man's man, and for someone like that to walk two steps behind his wife showed such character.
Since the Queen went into mourning for her consort, Mrs Wilson knitted her a new hat. She had already prepared a black coat knowing how the Prince had been unwell.
Pat has reached local renown for her oft-wacky fundraising efforts with friend Jill Burford.
They came to reach the headlines in 2016 when she and Mrs Burford, hit the headlines when they took their knitted car Bessie on a charity car challenge to Rome in aid of Martha Trust which provides lifelong care for people with profound physical and learning disabilities. Named Grans on The Run, their challenge continued the next year when the pair went to Monte Carlo in Bessie.
In 2017 her knitted van raised more than £1,000 for Martha Trust, as part of her Grans on the Make campaign.
The Grans on the Run and Grans on the Make endeavours have so far made over £23k and rising for the charities they have supported.
Mrs Wilson said: "I’m hugely committed to community involvement in our fundraising projects which is borne out by the amount of local and nationwide engagement we receive. "The benefits of crafting on our health is well known and was vitally important in lockdown. Our local craft shops did an incredible job supporting customers.
"Following a successful year fundraising for bees in 2019 as Grans on the Make, £12k, our efforts were instrumental in our nominated charity receiving a DEFRA award which we accepted on their behalf at the Wax Chandlers Hall in London.
"This has since led to the Wax Chandlers asking us to decorate their float with bees and flowers for The Lord Mayors show in London in November.
"So local people, please keep an eye out for a plea for yet more knitted and crocheted bees and flowers!"
