The Queen ‘was smiling and laughing’ as she had a cup of tea with the Sandringham branch of the Women’s Institute in the dark today – after the storm left the village hall with no power.
Her Majesty continued her annual visit to the WI branch at West Newton village hall in Norfolk, despite the power cut, which meant there was no heating with lighting.
The Queen, dressed in a pink coat, joked that she was struggling to see the WI members in the dark village hall, whilst some of the women used their IPhone torches to light up the room.
The ladies all enjoyed cake and tea, despite the freezing temperatures in the village hall, whilst they listened to a speech by guest speaker, BBC reporter, Susie Fowler-Watt.
The Queen was left in darkness due to a power cut at her Sandringham and West Newton Women’s Institute meeting on Thursday
The Queen later managed to sign the visitors book in the dark as the WI members struggled to pack up the cakes by torchlight.
Yvonne Brown, chairwoman of the Sandringham branch of the Women’s Institute, said: ‘You could say it has been very interesting. This morning the power went off at 06.11am and all through the morning we had information it would be on in an hour, so I took the decision we would go ahead regardless.
‘I had calls with the house and the Queen’s private secretary said yes if we were happy to go ahead, then they were happy to go ahead.
‘So Her Majesty valiantly came along to the WI this afternoon with no heating and no lighting and we were supplied with urns of water by the police to make the tea so we were actually able to provide everyone with a cup of tea
‘The Queen came in and she was laughing and smiling with everybody and making remarks on the fact she couldn’t really see us because it was even darker in the hall than it was outside. We’ve had a really lovely afternoon despite no heat or light.’
The Queen has attended the WI group’s meetings since 1943 and took over as President from the Queen Mother, who in turn took over from Queen Mary.
The local school was closed at lunchtime because there was no electricity.
The Queen was in high spirits as she joined the Women’s Institute for afternoon tea in Norfolk on Thursday
The Queen ‘was smiling and laughing’ as she had a cup of tea with the Sandringham branch of the Women’s Institute in the dark today – after the storm left the village hall with no power
Members of the Women’s Institute in West Newton Village Hall were forced to use torches to get around after a power cut
The village hall was left in darkness when a storm caused a power cut – but the women carried on
Each year she visits the WI branch at West Newton village hall in Norfolk and this time she was joined by guest speaker, BBC reporter, Susie Fowler-Watt.
The Queen has attended the WI group’s meetings since 1943 and took over as President from the Queen Mother, who in turn took over from Queen Mary.
In 1965, to celebrate the WI Golden Jubilee, there was a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace by gracious invitation of the Queen for a member from every WI in the country.
While the Queen enjoyed a day in Norfolk, royal bride-to-be Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrived in the Welsh capital to a tumultuous welcome from fans – but delays to the GWR train meant they arrived at the Welsh capital late for their third public engagement as a couple.
Each year the Queen visits the WI branch at West Newton village hall in Norfolk and this time she was joined by guest speaker, BBC reporter, Susie Fowler-Watt
The Queen looked radiant as she arrived in a sugary pink coat, which she accessorised with a simple black tote
Besotted Harry, 33, has made a promise to his bride-to-be to undertake visits across the U.K. before their wedding, to give the actress a chance to see the country she will come to call home and meet its people.
Viewers recently praised the Queen’s reaction after she was told the crown jewels were hidden in a biscuit tin 60ft underneath Windsor Castle to keep them safe from the Nazis.
The 91-year-old was speaking with royal commentator Alastair Bruce for a special one-hour programme to mark the 65th anniversary of her coronation.
He revealed that a librarian removed the stones out of the jewels and placed them into a Bath Oliver biscuit tin before hiding them in Berkshire.
But the Queen seemed unimpressed by the news and simply said: ‘Hmm, did he remember where he put them? He might have died in the middle.’
Queen Elizabeth II with her Maids of Honour and the Archbishop of Canterbury during the coronation on June 2, 1953
Her reaction was noted by people watching ‘The Coronation’ on BBC1 and one viewer said: ‘You need better stories than jewels in a biscuit tin to impress the Queen.’
Twitter user Matt W added: ‘Queen being told of the jewels being hidden in a biscuit tin during the war ‘oh… did he tell anyone? What if he’d died?’ She is genuinely wonderful in The Coronation.’
The gems, including the Black Prince’s Ruby from the Imperial State Crown, were placed in the tin and buried under a sally port – a secret exit used in an emergency.
The Queen asked Mr Bruce: ‘You think they were at Windsor?’
He replied: ‘They were definitely, Ma’am. The librarian gouged the stones out of the crown jewels and wrapped them and put them into a jar and put them into a Bath Oliver tin and hid them. Brilliant.’
But she seemed unimpressed and quickly said: ‘Hmm, did he remember where he put them? He might have died in the middle.’
The Queen added: ‘We were told nothing – we were only children then. We didn’t know anything, all the pictures disappeared everything disappeared and one was never told anything.
‘It was a secret, I suppose.’
Her Majesty, who spent her war years at Windsor Castle for safety, was aware of the general story but did not know the details until told by Mr Bruce.
The story was unearthed for the documentary by Oliver Urquhart Irvine, the librarian and assistant keeper of the Queen’s Archives.