In 1957, Queen Elizabeth visited my now closed Catholic boarding school for boys and watched a student perform a science experiment in the lab. My older brother I believe, was in his first year in the school at the time.
This visit I mention because the visit to the school by her great great grandmother, Queen Victoria, took place years previously in C19, at a time when Catholics were frowned upon (putting it politely) by the establishment. The story is that Queen Victoria was visiting because of support she had received from some of the Beaumont boys who, whilst breaking bounds near Windsor, had assisted her. Because the school was Catholic she was not able to travel up the drive to the school but had to attend at the entrance gate though whether that is true or not I cannot say as Queen Victoria made three visits to Beaumont.
Thankfully, this country has in any event moved on since C19.
The only time I have seen Queen Elizabeth was when she and members of the Kennedy family, drove in a convey of cars, down to Runnymede on 14th May 1965 to open the Kennedy Memorial there.
We Beaumont boys waited alongside our Runnymede rugby grounds and as the convey began to arrive, some cars stopped to await the arrival of the royal car.
Senator Robert Kennedy I believe it was, was in one of the waiting cars and wound down a window to chat to some of us and even wished me happy (16th) birthday. HM the Queen arrived shortly afterwards and we all cheered.
Another occasion was rather happier being a street party in Hawthorn Road the home of my late parents to honour the silver jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Of course there have been many moments mostly happy, but some tragic and others sad, in lives involving HM the Queen and her family but the one which I recollect best, was her James Bond act upon the opening of the very successful Olympic Games in London in 2012.
A dedicated queen who deserves to be known as Elizabeth the Great.
May she R.I.P.
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