Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will visit the charred remains of historic British trade ship the Cutty Sark today (22.05.07).
The British prince - who is president of the Cutty Sark Trust - wants to see for himself the wreckage of the 19th Century ship which tragically suffered serious fire damage in a suspected arson attack yesterday morning (21.05.07).
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: ‘The duke was sorry to hear of the fire, this sad setback to an important example of our national maritime heritage. ‘The duke takes a close interest in historic ships and their preservation for future generations and as president of the Cutty Sark Trust since 2000 he has been working closely with them in support of their fundraising.’ Chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust Richard Doughty has called for help to raise money to restore the ship.
The tea clipper - which still holds the record for sailing from Britain to Australia in just 72 days in 1885 - sits in a dry dock in Greenwich, south London.
The prince was scheduled to accompany his wife Queen Elizabeth to open a new planetarium and education centre at the nearby Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum. He will now visit the ship’s remains after his previously arranged engagement.
Philip helped form the Cutty Sark Society in 1951 and the partner trust has raised £18 million towards a £25 million restoration of the ship, which was due to reopen to the public in November 2009. Fortunately more than half the ship, including the masts, had been dismantled and taken off site to be restored and were therefore not damaged by the fire.
© bangshowbiz.biz
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