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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 3, 2002 - A3 Catani family history has royal connection (Continued from page 1) Countess of Strathmore, were sitting at a nearby table taking tea while other family members lounged by the fireside or gathered around a piano. The portrait was eventually dis played by the Royal fam ily at Balmoral Castle, also in Scotland, said Catani. However, in the mid-1930s. Catani's father, Sem. who had come to Canada and settled in Montreal with his wife Quinta (M orotti) Catani. learned that the portrait had been destroyed by a fire at the castle. Vittorio said his dad. an artist/decorator of some repute, who had been commissioned to work in Canada, also had had copies of the photograph, so he took one of them, painted it and sent it off to the Royal family to replace the destroyed ver sion. The senior Catani and his wife had something of a surprise when, during the Queen's royal tour of Canada with her husband King George V I in 1939 that they received a note. Hand-written by the Queen's sec retary, on stationery that read "The Royal Train." it was dated May 23, 1939 and expressed thanks for send ing the replacement portrait. The now faded envelope was addressed to the Catani's address on Alma Street in Montreal and bore four cents Canadian postage -- with two one-cent stamps featuring the young face of the Queen Mother, much like it appeared in the portrait. "There's an interesting side light to that letter." smiled Catani. He explained that just months later, in early 1940, as his mother was pregnant for him, the RC M P visited the Catani family's Montreal residence to conduct an interview. The interview was akin to similar visits police paid to Canadians of Japanese and Italian descent, who were assessed as potential security threats during World War II. "M y mother must have been nervous. She was pregnant with me. I mean she was out there, but she showed them the letter from the Queen Mother," explained Catani. "One of the officers then took her by the arm, led her to a chair, told her to `Sit down. Madame,' and treated them like gold," said Catani. The Catani family's copy of this royal portrait shows a very young Queen Mother, then Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lvon, in the foreground of a family scene, building a house of cards with her younger brother, David, while other family members lounged by the fireside or gathered around a piano. The Catani family was never interned nor did they need to move anywhere or report to anyone throughout the entire war, said Catani. who recalled that his father's co-workers and even his boss failed to have similar luck. Family history is a hobby with the Catani family, whose members are as interested in the tale about the Queen Mother as they are about the prestigious career of Giuseppe. He is listed in the archives of the National Gallery of Canada and whose work is known across Europe. In fact, the Catani family tree can be dated back to 1200 A.D., said Catani. The portrait, of which Catani also has a copy in its original photo graphic state, is documented in a book entitled The Country Life Book o f the Royal Family by Godfrey Talbot. Not seen in that book is a large portrait photo that Catani has of the Queen Mother as a young girl. It's all part of a collection of artwork passed down through the family, along with documents and photos, which record the Catani family his tory. W hile Catani's wife Eileen said she was saddened to hear of the Queen Mum's passing last Easter weekend, her husband acknowl edged that the Queen Mother led a long, full life. Yet, there's still something about royalty, he admitted. " When you meet them or see them, you get goosebumps. 1 don't know what it is. Maybe it's like they're a movie star or maybe it's because they're somebody who has power over you. I wonder why they have this affect on you, they're just people," he mused. The Queen Mother died in her sleep last Saturday at age 101. Her daughter. Queen Elizabeth, age 75. was by her mother's side and Prince Charles, heir to the throne, has said the Queen Mother was "the most magical grandmother." The Queen Mother's funeral will be held next Tuesday. April 9. Her coffin is at St. James' Palace in London, but w ill be moved to Westminster Hall where it will lie in state at the Houses of Parliament, until the funeral to be held at Westminster Abbey just across the road. The Queen Mother will then be buried privately at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, beside her late husband. King George V I. who died in 1952 at the age of 56. leaving the couple's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, to take over the throne of the United Kingdom. Julie Fairrie · Oakville Beaver Vittorio Catani and his wife Eileen sit in the living room with their family's Royal sou venirs on the coffee table: a thank you letter from the Royal Family to Vittorio's father, the thank you letter's envelope, the photograph of the portrait made by his uncle. Professor A. Catani, and a Royal Family book containing a picture of the same portrait. SPRING MADNESS AT OAKVILLE DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP I 'M y < jy TRILLIUn GROUIiD^PinG GRAND CARAVAN See our flyer in today's selected issues. /m th for 48 mos. With $4,334 down payment or equivalent trade. 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