HISTORIAN Viv Wilson recalls her experiences of meeting Her Majesty the Queen.

Viv, who is a renowned expert on Teignmouth’s history, said: ‘As a small child in Exeter, my first awareness of Queen Elizabeth II was when she visited the city, possibly even before the Coronation.

‘Her limousine passed our house on St David’s Hill marking the start of my life-long admiration for our outstanding monarch.

‘She also visited Teignmouth around the same time and many local children witnessed her progression along the Upper Den carriageway.

‘A quarter of a century earlier, the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII, also drove that stretch and told officials they had a beautiful town to look after.’

Viv recalled: ‘In Silver Jubilee year 1977 I took photos of her walkabout at County Hall from a ring-side position.

‘Over the years I watched her progress with a deep interest and growing admiration. never dreaming that I would be summoned to Buckingham Palace.

‘In October 2004, I travelled by train to the capital in company with three special friends including Arthur Smith who, in 1986 encouraged my love affair with images of Teignmouth in bygone days.

‘It was the history connection that was detailed in the Citation which rests with all the memorabilia of that single day in a special album.

‘The Queen, accompanied by the Gurkhas, marched in on the dot of 11am and proceedings began.

‘Suddenly, the Lord Chamberlain keeled over, landing on the dais with a loud bang.

‘The Queen was immediately surrounded by guards – did she turn a hair? Not at all!

‘She carried serenely on without missing a heartbeat.

‘In those few moments, her essence was distilled: calm, duty, carry on regardless.

‘To have looked directly into her eyes, answered her questions, shaken her hand and curtsied as elegantly as possible was the most tremendous honour.

‘God bless the memory of our late, lamented Monarch who will never be forgotten around the world.’