Britains royal super fan eagerly awaits birth of new royal baby

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• published: 09 Apr 2015
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Margaret Tyler is amongst Britain's most ardent royal fans and she can't wait for the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new baby. On a quiet suburban street in northwest London her house dramatically sticks out. Draped in bunting with a Queen's guardsman in a sentry box and Corgi dog statues outside, inside it 's a shrine to all things royal. "Heritage House" is crammed to rafters with a dizzying array of royal memorabilia. The more-than-10,000-strong hoard ranges from official memorabilia to the kitsch and is believed to be the most extensive private collection in the country. The sitting room focuses mainly on Prince William, his wife Catherine known as Kate and their son Prince George. There's precious little space to expand the collection, but Tyler is determined to find room to add knick-knacks and photos of the new baby, due to be born towards the end of April. Tyler was among the royal enthusiasts who waited patiently for days outside St Mary's hospital in July 2013 for the birth of the couple's first child. She can't wait for the arrival of the toddler prince's new brother or sister. "I am beyond excitement I think. It seems to be my last thought at night and my first thought in the morning. You know, it is not that long now. It's crept up, after Christmas it seems to have whizzed past. Everybody is getting very excited as well," said Tyler. The top floor of her home has now been converted into a B and B hotel room, completely decked out in Union Jack flags and King and Queen pillows. Tyler said she's had guests from America, Germany and France, all keen to spend at least one night surrounded by all things royal. The 70-year-old loves royal talk with fellow fans. "Sometimes if people have got someone in the family who is a royalist they'll ask if they can have a little party here from them, they will bring them here and they don't know they are coming here. And so we have little tea parties and they bring cake and drink lots of tea," she said. The front room is dubbed the Jubilee room and is dedicated to the Queen. The dining room has become a shrine to Princess Diana, complete with Diana-themed stained glass windows and a mural of her on the ceiling. Tyler started collecting in 1977, the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. It all began with an unassuming glass "Elizabeth R" ash-tray she picked up at a jumble sale for 2 pence. From then onwards the collecting began in earnest and has mushroomed into a vast array of plates, mugs, tea-towels, pictures and dolls relating to almost every member of the royal family. Life-size cardboard cut-outs of the Queen Mum, the Queen, Diana and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge keep Tyler company in her jam-packed home. They are like family to her. "I love living amongst it to be truthful, on the rare occasions when I have the place decorated, and they are rare, I can't bear it. I had the Diana room painted and I started putting pictures up even before the paint was dry, which I got told off for. But I just living amongst it, I can't imagine it any other way, it would be so boring I think," she said. The old-aged pensioner gets given a lot of her items, such as the cardboard cut-outs she asks for from book stores, or movie posters from cinemas. Others send her unwanted items after they've had a clear out of their homes. The collection is insured for 40,000 pounds, but Tyler said she doesn't know the true value of her hoardings. She doesn't have a car nor a computer, so she spends her days browsing tourist shops and flea markets in London, carrying her goods home on public transport. She's avoiding getting access to the internet as she knows she'd not be able to resist the temptation to order even more items online. When Tyler is not out and about looking for new trinkets, she is busy organising and cleaning the collection. It's a full-time job and unlike most people, Tyler relishes a day spent with duster in hand. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntdtv.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C