As part of the Innovate project for Revolution, Anna has written a speech for the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace for Queen Victoria.

First, the letter of acceptance:

To Your Royal Highness Queen Alexandria Victoria,

Thank you very much for the invitation to the opening of the Crystal Palace. I would be delighted to come. I have heard it is in London and I‌ live in Yorkshire, so it may take a few days to arrive, however I will set off with enough time to get there early. It is at 10 o’clock on the 1st of May, is that correct?  I shall wear an appropriate dress for the occasion. I look forward to seeing you at the exhibit.

I hope that is alright with you and that you have a lovely time there as well.

Many thanks. I am already excited!

Yours Sincerely,

Charlotte Brontḕ

 

Then the speech...

Speech for the Crystal Palace opening

Good Evening. For those of you who do not know me, I am Charlotte Bronte, from Haworth in the County of Yorkshire.

First of all I would like to thank Queen Victoria for inviting me to this grand opening. I cannot wait to see what fascinating things this palace has in store. As you may be aware, it is an honour to be invited so please be grateful for this opportunity. Please treat the Crystal Palace with respect and appreciate the time and effort put into building this Palace.

Now I don’t want to keep you waiting too long, so I will keep my point my brief.

I went to a school called Roe Head School in Mirfield. This school’s poor conditions have permanently affected my health. This may mean that I won’t live for as long as I could have. Personally, I think we should do something about this problem, as more children will become ill. Also poor families may have to send their children to school if it is clean or dirty. This will then affect their health as it has done to me.

Everyday there are more children dying because of problems with their health. This is devastating for every family. Some of my sisters have died from health problems. It is a horrible experience to go through and I don’t want anyone else to experience how I felt. However, everyday more families are going through this tough time. Please consider my point so that we can make schools cleaner, healthier and more pleasant.

Thank very much for listening. I hope you enjoy your time here.