Have you seen any of the Royal Family up close?

I met Charles and Camilla when they were staying with friends, and Charles when he visited the Cathedral on two
official visits, like them both.

In 1982 I was crossing a zebra crossing with my DSs pram, in London and a blue Aston Martin stopped to let me cross.
It was THE blue Aston Martin driven by Prince Charles.

I accompanied a young girl who was presenting Princess Anne with a bouquet at a Save the Children charity concert. Princess Anne is also petite and very slim.

Some time later, in another city Princess Diana had arrived in a helicopter in a local park, with her sister Sarah McCorquendale (sp?). Somehow my car was stopped as her car drew up, going the other way, but was stopped as well. I could see into the back and she and her sister were having a great laugh about something.

Yes, the Queen, Prince Charles (we exchanged a few words), Princess Anne and her then husband, Mark Phillips, at a ball in Windsor Castle, December 1976.

I’ve met a few the last few years at art events my son and dil were involved in. I’ve met Prince Charles and Camila, Camila I was quite surprised was actually quite attractive in the flesh. I never liked her out of loyalty to poor Diana, but she was very down to earth and friendly. I also met Princess Micheal at another art event, she was wearing an eyepatch (perhaps post surgery?) and it was sparkly, she looked like an eccentric aristocratic pirate.
Lastly I saw Prince Philip at a country fair up north about 20 years ago where he was judging carriage racing. He was walking with a secret service guard to the porta potty’s. Very glam indeed!

Yes I saw the queen in Manchester probably about 20 years ago she was in a burgundy rolls Royce I was about 6 foot away from her and the thing that I noticed was her beautiful skin it was absolutely flawless and I can remember saying to my friend ( we were both avid worshippers "there goes a woman who has never lay on a Greek beach with olive oil on her face!

Princess Alexandra at a British High Commission reception in Singapore, 1969. DH and I had just got engaged and she congratulated us on our happy news. She and her husband were charming.

I got close to Prince Charles at an agricultural show in the 70s. We were pushed to the front as we had a group of children with us on a school trip. He asked where we were from and one the kids tried to touch his button hole and he covered it with his hand so it couldn't be touched! He was smaller than I thought he'd be.

Met Prince Phillip. Nice guy but obviously not keen on the press, even though they were only local. You could see why they are called the press "pack" though. He wanted to talk to the people who were standing by but not listed to be introduced. I liked his style.

Strangely my mother remembered this week, apropos of very little, going to Buck House to see my brother get his medal from the Queen. I love it when she does that as they are always quite joyful memories that pop up.

Over 40 years ago we were at Windsor Great Park with friends of ours who lived locally. There was an equestrian event taking place and Princess Anne was walking round in what must have been a private capacity. DH became totally star struck and kept edging close, so much so that if she’d turned round suddenly he and the ice cream he was licking would have been in her face. Amused our friends and I no end!

How close up? I watched the royal coach going down the Royal Mile in 1977 and the Queen waved (at me of course). It was her Silver Jubilee tour.

The Duke of Kent.
He's very tall so I had to move to see anything..

I was inside at the opening of the Birmingham law courts by the Queen mother and she acknowledged us all. She was tiny but beautiful

My daughter has met most of the royal family and as I have often been her 'plus one' at such meetings, I have also met some of them. I have great admiration for the things I know they do 'behind the scenes'. A special favourite of mine is Princess Anne who was once extremely kind to my daughter and demonstrated a compassionate side to her that I think would surprise some people. Prince William, on his second meeting with my young grandson actually remembered his name, which I think is remarkable. (Though my grandson had chatted to him at length on their first meeting and is full of character.) On one occasion when our grandson was just a baby my husband was with my daughter when they had a meeting with Prince Charles. I have a lovely photo of Prince Charles making a great fuss of the baby and my husband said he was very natural with him.

We used to see them driving down the Great West road in London as children.We waited with excitement for the road to clear, then the outriders, then the royals going fairly fast as they wizzed by. A different world in the 50s!

Lots of interesting anecdotes. Surprised the anti-royal brigade hasn’t jumped on to slag us all off for hero-worship!

We also went to be garden party a few years ago, but I wasn't chosen to meet her ( what a surprise ) so could only glimpse her, as she is tiny. Then the heavens opened and that was the end of that.

I curtsied to the Queen Mother when she opened a new wing at our school in 1967. She had quite bad veins in her legs, poor woman.
I have also met Prince Philip and Lord Snowden when I briefly worked in a design shop in London, both shorter than you would imagine.
DH and I went to a Garden Party at Buck House and the Queen passed by.

My son has a picture of the Prince of Wales with him and his year six class mates when they visited Osborne House on the I.O.W., which coincided with a royal visit. That was 19 years ago now because he certainly looked a lot less florid and still had dark hair, the P.O.W. that is not my son he was only 11 at the time.

My little sister presented flowers to Princess Marina in the early 60's in Bordon, she was visiting the army.

The Queen landed at RAF Gatow in Berlin in the mid 60's, I was at school in Gatow, she walked along a line us schoolchildren, chatting to some, not me though!

I saw Princess Margaret at Glasgow airport in the late 70s, she was tiny. I meet Diana, who was pretty but Sarah Ferguson was really beautiful, a friend and i spent 20 mins in a cold dark foyer of a block of flats chatting to her. She was at R.A.F Coltishall visiting the Pre-School.She was lovely

We often stay on the Sandringham estate Caravan club site, and my husband likes to roam the forest tracks early morning looking for wildlife, he has often passed a brief greeting with one of the Royals who were out walking their dog at the same time. We have also seen the Queen paying a private visit to the church one afternoon, closely followed by her lady in waiting and suited and wired man in a dark suit, probably her protection officer. At this time of year various Royals can be seen driving around the estate, often in Range Rovers, but sometimes in a rather old Defender, driven by a lady wearing a headscarf!
My Step brother is a retired Army officer, also with close connections to the Horse Racing world, and he’s met most of them at some point in his career, but is a personal friend of Princess Anne, who sends him a Christmas card every year.

In the fifties I was at a school very close to Buckingham Palace (Buckingham Gate). As we only had a roof playground we were walked to St James’s Park to play rounders. Several times the games mistress shouted “the Queen’s coming” and we would run over to the Mall while she was driven past. What struck me was her pink complexion and how brightly coloured she was dressed; also she seemed to make a point of looking and waving to us excited youngsters. In 1975 I saw the Queen Mum close up as she was at the Albert Hall for the London University graduation ceremony. I remember thinking she was so much like my gran and had the same rather pale skin. I so admired her ability to look interested in every graduate as we passed in front of us as that went on for ages while I actually nodded off a couple of times. My daughter saw Princess Diana when she was shown into a small ward where she was nursing two children. I asked her what she was like and all she really said that she was mesmerised by her ring as she put her hands on the bedclothes!!! My grandson used to go to boxing lessons and was introduced toPrince Philip and the only impression I got from him was “he is really old”.

Great anecdotes on here!

And so far, over 40 of us have seen someone from the RF ‘in the flesh’ out of .... erm over 60 million of us! Love it.

Forgot also that as a youngster at that same school in Victoria we were taken regularly to the swimming baths. As the games mistress stood in the middle of the pedestrian crossing seeing us across she was saying look “itsPrince Charles” and there he was a little tot sitting in the front of the car that had stopped for us. He was on his nanny’s lap and sitting next to the chauffeur. As we smiled and waved he sat waving back to us. Imagine that happening today! No seat belts and tots sitting in the front now. Also they wouldn’t stop nowadays for security reasons.

Queen mother, must have been about 1970. In a crowd and she suddenly appeared milling through. I thought that she looked as if she had powdered her face with flour!