Queen’s ‘meticulous’ dress sense remembered by teacher who met her on visit to Rotherham

Chris was among the welcoming party as the Queen opened Herringthorpe Leisure Centre in July 1975.

Now aged 75, Chris was then a primary teacher at Sitwell School but also coached trampolining in the evenings.

“My trampolining section was asked, along with all the other activities in the centre, to put on a display of trampolining for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for the opening of the centre,” he said.

“I’ll always remember how wonderful she looked, and how meticulously she was dressed.

“Everything she was wearing was a beautiful powder blue colour, from her dress, to her handbag and her shoes and hat — all beautifully matching.”

He added: “After the display, I met the Duke of Edinburgh, who was talking with one of our very small girls who had just finished her routine on the trampoline.

“He asked her how long she had been trampolining and she said it was about one year.

“Then, typically of his wicked sense of humour, he said: ‘Well, if you put some lead in your knickers you'd bounce a lot higher!’

“We all had a good chuckle about it.

“I've never forgotten that wonderful moment, 47 years ago as a young teacher of 28, when I met our beautiful Queen and her wonderful husband.”