The Day I Met The Queen

Shelley (bottom left)
Mansfield Chad
Shelley and the bunch of flowers that her Nana brought her to give to the Queen
Mansfield Chad
Shelley and her Nana
Mansfield Chad

I can remember when the Queen came to Mansfield during her Silver Jubilee tour in 1977.

I was nearly eleven years old at the time and went to Mansfield to see her with my Nana who was a big fan of the Royal Family.

We set off early to get into town, when we got there my Nana brought me some flowers to give to the Queen and we then stood on the front row in the Market Place to get a good view.

I can remember having my photo taken posing with the flowers before the Queen arrived and then the security man said that we could go in front of the barriers so we could greet the Queen when she was doing her walkabout.

When she was near to us I remember giving her the flowers and she sad “thank you vey much” and I recalled how posh she sounded.

It was a great day that I will never forget and I am constantly reminded of it as I am nearly always in a picture printed in the Chad, although it is mostly the back of my head that is seen in the photos printed. My Mum has got some other photos that my Nana purchased from the Chad and I can be seen in front of the barriers waving a flag as the Queen waved to the crowd as she walked past.

Shelley Hughes (nee Boam)

This and other stories will feature in the ‘Our Queen’ exhibition at Mansfield Museum Saturday 2 – Saturday 30 June

Comments about this page

  • I can remember that day, I was there as a 10 year old, so excited screaming my head off.
    I’m making this comment on the day the death of our beloved Queen Elizabeth ll is announced, it’s not completely unexpected I suppose when someone’s in their 90’s, but it’s still very much the end of an era and still bewildering and a shock 😥

    By A Higginbotham (08/09/2022)
  • This reminds me about heading to London from Mansfield to London in 1953 for the Coronation. I had an Aunt who lived in London and we camped out all night on Whitehall to see the Queen pass by after the Coronation – and I still have an excellent memory of it all.
    My Aunt also introduced me to opera, by taking me to Covent Garden to see AIDA – starring Maria Callas – and I’ve been hooked on opera ever since! So much so that my wife (from Alfreton) and I have seen opera at La Scala, Verona, Rome, Sydney, etc., etc.
    And in 1974 I had the pleasure of meeting the Duke of Edinburgh a the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.
    My wife and I emigrated to New Zealand in 1962 and we love this website.

    By Neil Hayes QSM (29/09/2019)
  • I remember that day so well working for Landers and having three shops in Mansfield we were extremely busy and continued delivering to our shops as long as the police allowed us into the town centre. What a fantastic day takings wise and atmosphere wise. It was wonderful driving round and looking at the crowds on the side of the roads, the bakery also had a wagon painted up in a union jack design to celebrate the jubilee and this was parked on Chesterfield Road in a car park so HM could see it as she was driven in.  The pressure for Landers did not end there because HM went from Mansfield to Nottingham where again we had three shops and from there to Derby where again we had three shops. At about three in the afternoon I was driving a wagon out of Nottingham towards Derby approx 15 minutes in front of HM [picking up empties for the next day deliveries] and all the way the road was well lined with crowds of people—the thought went through my mind well if all else fails it’s a good bit of advertising!

    By jim cairns (16/04/2012)

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