NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When you spend time in the home of an artist — especially when that artist is Phil Ponder — everywhere you look is a prized possession.
"This is one of the most fabulous little trinkets I have in this house," said Ponder about the old clock face from Nashville's Union Station that's now mounted on his office wall. "We traded out two prints of Union Station for that part of the clock."
But you might say one of Phil's favorite treasures is buried deep in an old album. It marks the time he was invited to rendezvous with royalty.
"'The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by their majesties' — how about that?" reads Ponder. "'To invite Mr. Phillip Ponder to an afternoon party on Monday, the 17th of November, of 1947.'"
At the time, Ponder was just 14 years old, and there was a lot he didn't understand.
"Service dress uniform, morning dress — I had no idea what that was," said Ponder, about the required dress code.
But most significantly, Ponder had no idea how he got invited.
"This is what’s amazing to me: she didn’t know who I was from Adam," Ponder said with a chuckle.
It turns out that Phil's father had sent Princess Elizabeth Windsor a letter, written on his son's behalf. It read, in part: "It is my desire to send you a little remembrance for your wedding." It concluded by saying: "And by all means, come to see your American cousins sometime. Very Sincerely, Phillip Ponder."
Phil's father also included a small gift.
"This was something most any woman in England would have loved to have had at that time. A couple pair of nylon hose," explained Ponder.
Hosiery had been heavily rationed during World War II, meaning it was hard for anyone to find in Europe, even a future Queen.
"I didn’t even know he had sent that," said Ponder.
Alas, Phil wasn't able to make the trip.
"It was only like three or four days before it could take place, so there was no way I could go there. And we couldn’t have afforded the airfare anyway," he said.
But he did get to see her in person, 10 years later, when Queen Elizabeth made a trip to the states in 1957.
"That’s the only time I actually saw her in person," said Ponder.
Now that the matriarchal monarch has passed, the fact that he got to be enveloped in her kindness is what makes the invitation a true treasure.
"You know, my dad kind of wished her a long life, and sure enough, 96 years is fabulous," said Ponder. "It’s just really special that I’ve still got that after all these years."
Ponder later found out, through his son who is fascinated by genealogy, that he and the Queen are distant cousins — 14th cousins to be exact.
When he isn't looking over his royal relics, Ponder is renowned as an artist whose specialty was detailed paintings of beloved Nashville buildings.
