I am most grateful to Her Royal Highness for so kindly agreeing to become our Patron. This news is a major fillip to all our supporters and particularly the volunteers
Aerospace Bristol, which is currently under construction, is an industrial heritage Museum that will trace pioneering stories of air and space travel innovation.
Its collection contains over 8,000 artefacts (many ‘at risk’) Bristol-built aircraft including Concorde 216, Bristol Scout, Bristol Fighter and a Blenheim IV (WWII Bristol Bolingbroke bomber, under restoration), as well as many scaled models.
The Princess was present to celebrate the completion of a hangar that will house Concorde 216. Designed, built and tested in Bristol, the Concorde 216 was the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly.
The Princess Royal toured the Aerospace Bristol site and met volunteers who have been involved with restoring and preserving the exhibits as well as members of the construction team.
The Princess toured Hangar 16S, which is currently being restored. It was built in 1917 and is now being converted into the new Museum entrance and collection exhibition space.
Aerospace Bristol presented The Princess with a framed print of a magazine cover from the museum’s extensive historical archives.The Bristol Review cover, first published in Autumn 1957, shows a photograph of Princess Margaret, The Princess Royal and The Prince of Wales on the steps of a BOAC Britannia as The Queen Mother set out from London for Rhodesia.
The Princess Royal is also an Honorary Fellow of The Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Royal Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of The Royal Society and Patron of WISE.
