British Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, has written a touching poem to mark the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In the poem, titled Floral Tribute, Simon describes the coming of a September evening and the appearance of a lily-of-the-valley, one of the Queen’s favourite flowers. These beautiful and fragrant white flowers were included in […]

As a member of the Girls’ Brigade I was part of a group that was presented to Her Majesty in 1977 for her Silver Jubilee. I didn’t speak to her personally as the younger members were at the front by the rope.  Also as a member of the Girls’ Brigade, I worked for the Queen’s […]

For several years my husband and I attended Royal Ascot and were privileged to watch the Queen and members of her family mingle with other race goers. As has been described in detail, her love of horses was very apparent at these meetings and it was a pleasure to see her so relaxed. Unfortunately we […]

During the Silver Jubilee year in 1977, the Queen toured the country. There was gathering at the Showground for groups of children. I went with a minibus of other 9-13 year olds from our Methodist Church children’s group. It was 6 August – I know the date as it was my birthday! Here is a […]

This is a photo taken by my daughter as Her Majesty chatted to Ann May and me (centre), while presenting the Royal Cornwall Cup in the WI Marquee at the Royal Cornwall Show.    – Rosemary Slee, Torpoint WI and Maker with Rame WI (former CFWI Chairman)

I have never met the Queen, but have a memory of the Proclamation of her Accession. I was at school in 1952 and the only radio was in the assembly hall, so the Headmistress got us all there to listen to the Proclamation. She said, “She is a very young Queen and many of you […]

I was four when in 1958 HM the Queen visited the new town of Stevenage, where I grew up. Although I don’t remember this, the Queen came by in her limo while my family was watching and Her Majesty leaned out of the window a little, looked directly at me and waved especially to me. […]

I never had the privilege of meeting the Queen, but I do have a fuzzy memory of her visiting my nursery school in Truro when I was 3 or 4 years old. I remember us all being herded outside and made to stand on the pavement as she walked past. If she had spoken to […]

We asked WI members in Cornwall to share with us any memories they have of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and the response has been overwhelming! Here is the first in our series: My memory is of Her Majesty’s visit to the Royal Cornwall Show. I was stewarding the WI competitions and had to take my […]

NFWI has released a video statement from NFWI Chair Ann Jones on the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II. You can watch Ann’s statement here:  In addition, NFWI has set up a virtual condolence book, and all members are invited to sign and share their messages. After the period of mourning, all the comments will […]