Lucky few chosen to meet the Queen

A woman who has lived her life in parallel with the Queen’s reign has had the chance to meet her.

Mrs Linda Crook, 60, of Hawton Road, Newark, was due to meet the Queen when she visited Nottingham today.

She was invited because she was born on February 6, 1952, the day that Elizabeth II acceded to the throne following the death of her father, King George VI.

Mrs Crook said: “I’ve never had the opportunity to meet the Queen before, but my dad always used to tell me I was someone special because I was born on the day that a princess became a Queen.”

She was chosen after responding to a story in the Advertiser inviting people who shared a 60-year anniversary with the Queen to contact the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire’s office.

Mrs Crook sent off her birth certificate and was contacted to say she had been selected.

She said: “I was thoroughly ecstatic and really excited. I sat and watched the whole of the diamond jubilee celebrations on TV. I think the Queen is fantastic.”

She said the opportunity was a big boost after what had been a difficult year.

“Last year I broke my leg in three places after a fall and was in plaster for seven months,” she said.

“Things were a bit difficult and I still have to use crutches so for something like this to happen now is brilliant.”

Mrs Linda Elizabeth Guy, of Main Street, North Muskham, was also due to meet the Queen thanks to her birthday.

She said: “I was thrilled to hear I had been chosen. It was a lovely feeling.

“For the golden jubilee I got the chance to go to a garden party at Buckingham Palace because of my birthday, which was very special.

“This time it will be a much smaller gathering, which will make it a different sort of experience but no less exciting.”

Mrs Guy’s middle name is Elizabeth because of her birthday.

She said: “The family story goes that the midwife told my mum what had happened and that is why she and my dad decided to call me Linda Elizabeth.

“From being a child I remember my mum saying how I shared the date with the Queen coming to the throne.”

A couple from Southwell who celebrate their diamond wedding in August were also among those invited to meet the Queen yesterday.

Mr and Mrs James Peel, both 81, of Lower Kirklington Road, Southwell, were nominated for the honour by their daughters.

The couple, who are originally from Edgbaston, met at a friend’s party when they were 16 and married five years later.

They moved to Southwell about ten years ago to be nearer their family.

Mrs Joan Peel said she was excited to meet the Queen who she had seen once before during a visit to Dudley in the West Midlands many years ago.

She said: “Last time I was waiting in a queue with hundreds of other people to catch a glimpse of her as she drove past but this is a bit different because it is a front row view.

“We are so excited. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the jubilee and our diamond wedding.”

Mrs Peel said she planned to invite the Queen round for a cup of tea and some cake.

The curator of the Dukes Wood Oil Museum, Eakring, Mr Kevin Topham, and his wife, Mrs Molly Topham, were another of the 16 couples chosen to attend because they celebrate their diamond wedding this year.

Mr and Mrs Topham, of Mansfield Road, Eakring, married in Edingley Church on September 6, 1952.