Monarch's purple reign
Linzi Nuttall • Published 18 Dec 2011 09:30
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IT WAS a double date that brought double delight when The Queen dropped in for two official Windsor visits.
Dressed in a jaunty purple hat and long coat, black gloves and matching handbag, Her Majesty was in town to visit Dedworth Medical Centre and officially open the museum in the town's Guildhall.
Around £2million was spent buying and updating the medical centre in Vale Road which, together with another site in nearby Eton, has more than 11,000 patients.
The practice has been serving patients in Windsor for more than 30 years and moved to its new building in June.
Trainee GP Sidhra Sadiq, the newest member of the practice's 10-strong doctor team, met the monarch along with admin staff and the architects behind the refurbishment.
Dr Jonathan Holliday, holds a three-day surgery at the castle for The Queen and her residents.
He said: "The Queen is always very interested in the care of people and the medical aspect of it. She was very interested to meet the doctors and see how they work, and when she met the nurses she was asking them what their specialisms were."
After a half-hour visit on Friday last week, Her Majesty then got into a waiting Bentley car and was driven to the Guildhall where she was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers who lined the High Street.
At the museum, the monarch was shown around by staff and volunteers.
Museum assistant Amelia Evans, demonstrated a workshop on the Olympics and said: "I was very nervous to speak to her, but she puts you at ease. I showed her a medal from the 1908 Olympics and she held it and said the new ones are heavy too."
She then went to unveil a plaque in the Ascot Room - where Prince Charles and Camilla married.
Here she met Royal Borough councillors, Mayor Cllr Asghar Majeed, and chief constable of Thames Valley Police, Sara Thornton.
As The Queen left the museum she was greeted by the waving of dozens of flags from year four of The Queen Anne Royal Free First School.
Pupil Natasha Goldsworthy, nine, smiled from ear to ear as she gave Her Majesty the posy of flowers: "She said thank you and I said you're welcome and then we smiled at each other. I was really happy."
It was especially poignant for the Goldsworthy family, because Natasha's parents married in the council chamber of the Guildhall in 2001.
The Queen opened the Guildhall 60 years ago so it was fitting for her to declare the museum officially open on Friday.
This article appeared in Royal Borough Observer 16 Dec 11
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