She was there to unveil a statue of pioneering playwright Aphra Behn.
Oliver Leader de Saxe reports.
Oliver Leader de Saxe reports.
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00:00It may have been grey skies above Canterbury, but even they couldn't put a dampener on a
00:05royal welcome home for a literary pioneer.
00:09Aphra Behn was the first professional female writer in the English language and for years
00:16campaigners have fought to have the trailblazing poet recognised with a statue commemorating
00:23her life in the city she grew up in.
00:26And it was earlier today that statue was unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen.
00:34It's really, really precious. I mean, we've worked on this for four years-ish and seeing
00:40someone like her taking true interest in it and taking her time out of her days to come
00:47and look at it is really, really precious to me.
00:50A lover of literature, Queen Camilla went on to tour the Beany House of Art and Knowledge
00:56where she met the next generation, learning about the pioneering playwright.
01:02Though it's safe to say they were more star-struck by royalty than by the restoration royalist.
01:08It was really fun. She was a really nice lady. I really enjoyed talking to her.
01:15It was so good. It was really good. It'll be a moment that we'll always remember.
01:21It was surprising and so fun because I've never met any of the royal family before.
01:28Meanwhile, patient crowds waited outside to catch a glimpse of Camilla. After all, it's
01:35not every day a royal comes to town.
01:38Oh, we're so excited. Yeah, it's a rare occasion so we're so happy.
01:44Yeah, it's such a beautiful university here so it's a bit of a surprise today. I was like,
01:49oh, great day to be in town.
01:51The thing is, she's a real person just like we are. But of course, she's royal and I'm ordinary.
02:00Whatever their motivation for being there, a question remains. How did a woman as fierce
02:07as Aphra Behn become forgotten in the city of Chaucer and Marlowe?
02:13I wonder what Chaucer and Marlowe have in common that Aphra doesn't. And in all truth,
02:19it's the fact that she was a woman. She was once the best and most prolific restoration
02:24writer in all of England. And then she became too saucy for the Victorians to handle. And
02:30now she's back. Hopefully that idea that you can say what you want, what you think, you
02:35can celebrate female sexuality and female fun. We know that's true. And that's why we've
02:41put Aphra back exactly where she belongs.
02:44The crowds may have gone here on Canterbury High Street. The Queen departed. But this
02:49statue of Aphra Behn, the grandmother of English literature, a pioneer for her plays that
02:56challenge gender and sexual stereotypes, still remains. And only a few hours after being
03:04unveiled, it's capturing the hearts and minds of the people of Canterbury.
03:11Oliver Leeds of the Saks for KMTV.