:00:26. > :00:34.After 60 years on the throne, her pulling power is as strong as ever.
:00:34. > :00:39.The Queen first visited the region in 1954, aged 28.
:00:39. > :00:49.As always, I have been happy to have the opportunity to meet people
:00:49. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:58.in Tyne and Wear. Any vantage point was fair game for one close look.
:00:58. > :01:05.Five but only a lucky few have met the Queen. I thought, what if she
:01:05. > :01:10.trips? What am I go on to do? Exchanged a few words with her
:01:10. > :01:14.Majesty. I said, have you been keeping yourself busy? And had a
:01:14. > :01:20.rare glimpse into her world. Meeting the Queen is the best thing
:01:20. > :01:27.that has happened to me. But not everybody is a fan. I am not doing
:01:27. > :01:37.it just because Elizabeth Windsor is coming. Planning is king when
:01:37. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :01:52.We have got an hour-and-a-half before we have to get it completely
:01:52. > :02:00.done. The pressure is definitely on but we will get there. The children
:02:00. > :02:04.have been up since half past six, quarter to seven for getting ready.
:02:04. > :02:09.The died in Jubilee tour of the region has been organised with
:02:09. > :02:17.military precision months in advance. -- Diamond Jubilee. Now
:02:17. > :02:23.the big day is finally here. It was the same attention to detail when
:02:23. > :02:29.the Queen came to Scarborough in May of 2010, her first visit for 25
:02:29. > :02:36.years. But when the cameras stopped rolling, the Queen and Prince
:02:36. > :02:40.Philip set off for a private visit to this family. The Queen is their
:02:40. > :02:48.landlady and she was catching the role helicopter home from the field
:02:48. > :02:53.on their farm. -- and Royal helicopter. But they were sworn to
:02:53. > :02:59.secrecy. It was very difficult to keep quiet that the Queen was going
:02:59. > :03:08.to be at our House. It was harder for Suzanne. She met people on the
:03:08. > :03:14.farm and could not tell them! Three days before the Queen was going to
:03:14. > :03:20.arrive, all of the security people arrived. All of the cattle sheds
:03:20. > :03:25.had to be checked over, looking for bonds, in place anybody was
:03:25. > :03:31.thinking of putting up on there. We had these big burly security guards
:03:31. > :03:41.and we were absolutely petrified -- and they were absolutely petrified
:03:41. > :03:46.
:03:46. > :03:54.by the cattle! 21 years ago, fidgets so -- fidgets so built this
:03:54. > :04:00.business in County Durham. For -- it was a watershed moment in the
:04:00. > :04:03.North East's manufacturing industry and it called for a glitzy opening.
:04:03. > :04:13.When I first broached the question of the Queen coming to open the
:04:13. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:22.plant here are remembered that my boss at the time said, not possible.
:04:22. > :04:27.Perhaps we get an MP, perhaps Tony Blair. The Japanese really love the
:04:27. > :04:31.Queen. This is why they found it so extraordinary that the Queen would
:04:31. > :04:41.bother to come to visit their little plant in the North East of
:04:41. > :04:48.
:04:48. > :04:53.England. The company brought a future to the region in the same
:04:53. > :05:03.year that there were riots in Tyneside. It left its Carol's life
:05:03. > :05:06.
:05:06. > :05:12.in tatters. One of my sons started to get into trouble. He was joy
:05:12. > :05:18.riding and all the rest of it. And he died of a drugs overdose, left
:05:18. > :05:27.two children. She put off her energy into helping rebuild the
:05:27. > :05:35.estate and she was nominated for an MBE in 2000. It came as a huge shot.
:05:35. > :05:40.-- shock. I came home and there was a letter and I couldn't believe the
:05:40. > :05:47.address on it. I kept going back to it and I put it in my bag and I
:05:47. > :05:54.didn't mention it to anybody. In my mind, I thought, is this a joke?
:05:54. > :06:02.Meeting the Queen was not something Sharon planned on either. I have to
:06:02. > :06:08.be honest, I would not go out of my way to meet the Queen. But her son
:06:08. > :06:12.Callum had other ideas. He was born four days early on that day the
:06:12. > :06:17.Queen was opening the new maternity wing at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
:06:17. > :06:24.I was sitting in the bed and the door was open and I could hear the
:06:25. > :06:29.dogs barking. The staff said, don't worry, it is just the sniffer dogs.
:06:30. > :06:35.I thought I was in the kennel tournament! They said, you have had
:06:35. > :06:42.the first baby in the new maternity ward. You are going to meet the
:06:42. > :06:51.Queen. But for most people meeting the Queen means a day off.
:06:51. > :06:55.vantage point was fair game as she moved through Hartlepool. As a ten-
:06:55. > :07:00.year-old child, everybody at school was so excited. Not only having a
:07:00. > :07:07.day off school but the Queen was coming to Hartlepool. As part of
:07:07. > :07:14.the visit, the Queen was launching a new lifeboat, the Scout. Robbie
:07:14. > :07:18.was tasked with presenting it to her Majesty. And there were as an
:07:18. > :07:22.army of RNLI crew man polishing it for days and days before. You could
:07:22. > :07:30.comb your hair in the brass work on the boat, the windows were
:07:30. > :07:36.tremendous. Everything that stood Still was painted or polished. I
:07:36. > :07:41.was given a red velvet cushion with a book precariously placed on top
:07:41. > :07:43.of it. I was supposed to stand there and not touch anything.
:07:44. > :07:50.Somewhere they miraculously manufactured this miniature
:07:50. > :07:55.lifeboat and a jumper with a bright red bobble hat. A bit of a fashion
:07:55. > :08:05.statement, I suppose! Darren took the day off work to welcome the
:08:05. > :08:06.
:08:06. > :08:11.Queen to Newcastle in 2009. Save our Queen.
:08:11. > :08:15.There is a lot about her as a person, the qualities that she has,
:08:15. > :08:22.that she brings to the role that I admire. Not everybody in his family
:08:22. > :08:28.is a royalist. The Queen, in my opinion, lives in an ivory tower. A
:08:28. > :08:33.very costly one. She is waited on hand and foot. And I don't suppose
:08:33. > :08:40.she knows what it is like to put the washing in. She brings the
:08:40. > :08:47.country together in a way that an elected politician can't do. I end
:08:47. > :08:51.up laughing at him normally. Wisely, he left his mum at home on the day
:08:51. > :08:56.he was determined to meet the Queen. We positioned ourselves on
:08:56. > :09:00.Northumberland Street and I bought a bouquet of flowers. I said, if I
:09:00. > :09:04.am every day -- ever going to get to meet her, that will attract her
:09:04. > :09:09.attention. One of her ladies in waiting had actually seen the
:09:09. > :09:18.bouquet and she tapped the Queen on the shoulder and the Queen turned
:09:18. > :09:23.around. It was all very slow motion for me. It was like the biggest 20
:09:23. > :09:29.pound note coming towards you. weather can play havoc with the
:09:29. > :09:34.best laid plans. I woke up in the morning and pulled the curtains
:09:34. > :09:41.back and I thought, oh, it is pouring with rain and I have to
:09:41. > :09:45.walk around the gardens. When we were waiting for the royal train to
:09:45. > :09:48.arrive the brain started tipping down and there were children from
:09:48. > :09:54.the school's standing waving flags and they did not have jackets on
:09:54. > :10:04.for some reason. As we waited the rain got heavier and heavier and
:10:04. > :10:05.
:10:05. > :10:11.they looked like drowned rats! a great start for the Queen's visit,
:10:11. > :10:15.her first outing as Lawson's -- Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland.
:10:15. > :10:19.With it being a damp underfoot, there were a few steps that we had
:10:19. > :10:27.to go down and up and I thought, please, don't trip up on the step.
:10:27. > :10:33.I thought, what if she trips up? Do eye-catcher? Her Majesty the Queen
:10:33. > :10:38.and the Duke of Edinburgh continued on their visit to the North East of
:10:38. > :10:45.England. Perhaps the visit reminded the Queen of her first trip here,
:10:45. > :10:52.57 years ago. Strong winds can't deter the crowds. In was really
:10:52. > :10:55.cruel because it was raining hard. -- it was really cruel. The royal
:10:55. > :10:59.couple are scheduled to stay only about five minutes but two
:11:00. > :11:05.appearances on the balcony make their visit last about four times
:11:05. > :11:10.as long. The first visit lasted long in the memory. Prince Philip
:11:10. > :11:17.and I have been regular visitors since we first came here together
:11:17. > :11:26.in 1954, when we visited Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, Jarrow, Newcastle
:11:26. > :11:31.and Sunderland in one-day. Meeting the Queen is the best thing that
:11:31. > :11:38.has happened to me in my life. I had to wishers, one was to meet the
:11:38. > :11:43.Queen of England and one was to see Newcastle win the Cup.
:11:43. > :11:50.everybody wants to meet the Queen. I was invited to see the Queen by
:11:50. > :11:55.Durham County Council. They said, Elizabeth Windsor is coming to our
:11:55. > :11:58.area, will you join her as she walks around? I said, I am
:11:58. > :12:06.certainly not doing it just because Elizabeth Windsor is coming to the
:12:06. > :12:09.area, no. It is all about undeserved privilege. She is in a
:12:09. > :12:15.massively privileged position. Some people deserve to be privileged,
:12:15. > :12:20.they work for it, they spend their lives dedicated to others. She did
:12:20. > :12:30.nothing except be born to King George VI. You could do it, I could
:12:30. > :12:30.
:12:30. > :12:38.probably do it if you gave me a crown. The Queen does a lot of work
:12:38. > :12:48.and she meets people, greets people, shakes hands but I think the
:12:48. > :12:49.
:12:49. > :12:59.meeting with me is something that will stay with her. Tommy was the
:12:59. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:03.first to demonstrate a new -- a unique Northumberland tradition.
:13:03. > :13:11.she walked down the alley way towards me, I was told to start
:13:11. > :13:19.pulling a face at her. When she came up to me and I pulled a face,
:13:19. > :13:23.but also in my brain I am thinking, I am pulling the face to the Queen.
:13:23. > :13:31.I was right beside her falling this stupid face and I wondered what the
:13:31. > :13:37.reaction would be. She was quite shocked. But I think she is quite
:13:37. > :13:47.good at doing the faces herself. She would maybe do quite well in
:13:47. > :13:50.
:13:50. > :13:59.When some the opens the door for her and she steps out, it becomes
:13:59. > :14:06.like a fairy-tale. You only ever see the Queen on television and she
:14:06. > :14:13.steps out. On to our drive that we step on to every day. That was so
:14:13. > :14:21.real. I had to give a presentation about the farm. Prince Philip asked
:14:21. > :14:26.some questions. And he got his wrist slapped by the Queen because
:14:26. > :14:32.he hadn't been listening. She said, you've already had that explained
:14:32. > :14:38.to you. The Queen was next to me. One of the cows had got its head
:14:38. > :14:48.through and they've got quite long tongues and it fancied a lick of
:14:48. > :14:54.mice get and is set my skirt up. Prince Philip nudged me. He said,
:14:54. > :15:02.just leave it! There were no press people allowed all the general
:15:02. > :15:06.public. That was a wonderful experience that money couldn't buy.
:15:06. > :15:12.Getting up close and personal with the Queen would have been unthought
:15:12. > :15:18.of in 1954 when protocol ruled. presented the official Bucquet it
:15:18. > :15:24.as the Queen entered the ballroom. The press were not allowed in
:15:24. > :15:31.because everything was just so formal in those days. They didn't
:15:31. > :15:38.stand and chat like they do now. It was a case of, very nice, thank you
:15:38. > :15:47.very much. But she was doing her duty. By 1977, the royal walkabout
:15:47. > :15:51.was mandatory. Meeting the Queen was a relaxed affair. Security is
:15:51. > :15:57.tight 10 now but the royal walkabout is still key as in
:15:57. > :16:01.Alnwick last year. I was going to follow people around but I got up
:16:02. > :16:06.there and I was told I would be walking side by side with her and
:16:06. > :16:11.carrying her umbrella, which I got a bit of stick of my friends and
:16:11. > :16:15.wife about. I got home that evening and my wife had seen the pictures
:16:15. > :16:20.on TV and said, if we were out there's no way you would carry my
:16:20. > :16:25.umbrella. I said, you're not exactly the Queen! We were walking
:16:25. > :16:29.down the main street and I was quite worried that people might be
:16:29. > :16:37.chanting for Alan Shearer more than the Queen. I thought, we've got to
:16:37. > :16:42.be careful here! That was slightly surreal because I could hear little
:16:42. > :16:48.shouts of my name and I'm thinking, please don't! Not when the Queen is
:16:48. > :16:54.here because of course it was her event, not mine. I was just a
:16:54. > :16:59.hanger-on, if you like. There was a moment when people were shouting,
:16:59. > :17:04.why didn't you take the job in Cardiff? The Queen looked at me and
:17:04. > :17:13.said, I think that comment was for you, Mr Shearer. I was a bit
:17:13. > :17:18.embarrassed. Later, there was a trip to Alnwick Castle. Before they
:17:18. > :17:23.were seated, he clocked the man with the seating plan. He said, you
:17:23. > :17:32.will be sitting next to the Queen. To be honest, time froze for a
:17:32. > :17:37.moment. I sat there for most of the first 28 or so minutes and I didn't
:17:37. > :17:42.say a word. There was this wonderful moment where Alan wasn't
:17:42. > :17:52.talking to anyone either and I was sat opposite they keenly and we
:17:52. > :17:53.
:17:53. > :17:56.looked at each other -- diagonally. Everyone was engaged in their own
:17:56. > :18:03.conversations. They weren't listening to the Queen holding
:18:04. > :18:09.court. The Queen was engaged in a private conversation with myself
:18:09. > :18:18.for the remainder of the lunch. We talked about her travels around the
:18:18. > :18:23.world. We talked about everything from the bakery and diverse
:18:23. > :18:29.subjects. She's incredibly knowledgeable and, dare I say, she
:18:29. > :18:34.is very with it. Never in my wildest dreams when I was a scruffy
:18:34. > :18:38.little lad been brought up in Gosforth that one day I would be
:18:38. > :18:45.sat having lunch with the Queen. That happens to other people, it
:18:45. > :18:50.would never happen to me. Harry... She was a nervous wreck when she
:18:50. > :18:55.came to collect her MBE. When I pulled up at the Palace I felt
:18:55. > :19:03.intimidated. I had come from a lowly Estate in the north-east
:19:03. > :19:08.where deprivation levels are massive. What am I doing here?
:19:08. > :19:13.Mrs Bell for services to the community of North Tyneside. When
:19:13. > :19:20.you know you one next in line, your legs go like jelly. You know you
:19:20. > :19:26.are going to be asked things. What am I going to say? When you first
:19:26. > :19:30.go to her, she pings it on UK and she held my hand and said, well
:19:30. > :19:40.down and can you tell me a bit about what to do. But it is not
:19:40. > :19:40.
:19:40. > :19:49.pompous. I thought she was down to earth. Then, when it was over, my
:19:49. > :19:52.husband cuddled us and I broke down. I like to think a bit of fate
:19:52. > :20:02.stepped in when she came across but it was probably my friend he was
:20:02. > :20:07.
:20:07. > :20:14.shouting over the road. "he's your I gave her the flowers. Gave her an
:20:14. > :20:20.over exaggerated bow. And I took that as a queue that I was going to
:20:20. > :20:27.engage in conversation and all I could think of, bearing in mind
:20:27. > :20:33.when you think, what would you say if you ever met the Queen... It was
:20:33. > :20:38.like I was talking to the bin man or something. She gave me an odd
:20:38. > :20:42.look and walked off swiftly, I think. But 10-year-old Robbie held
:20:42. > :20:48.it together. I was prepared by one of the officials that her Majesty
:20:48. > :20:52.wouldn't be talking to me but it turned out not to be true. The
:20:52. > :20:59.gentleman that was stood with me was supposed to do all the talking
:20:59. > :21:07.and the Queen sort of ushered him out the way. She asked me a few
:21:07. > :21:17.questions. I remember her saying, is your father the coxswain? I was
:21:17. > :21:27.proud in she said, thank you very much for the book. I felt 10 ft
:21:27. > :21:28.
:21:28. > :21:38.The Queen has witnessed history being made in our changing region.
:21:38. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:49.She switched on the world's first nuclear power station. In 1956. And
:21:49. > :21:56.in the same year, opened ICI's chemical works in Teesside.
:21:56. > :22:06.ARCHIVE: and out steps the Queen. The royal car went through the Bank
:22:06. > :22:06.
:22:06. > :22:11.-- Bryan new terminal -- brand new tunnel.
:22:11. > :22:16.It is a magnificent feat of engineering.
:22:16. > :22:22.Her Majesty unveiled the country's first opened Light Railway, the
:22:22. > :22:32.Metro. I have great pleasure in declaring the Tyne and Wear Metro
:22:32. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:41.And she opened the UK's largest artificial lake. A guarantee of
:22:41. > :22:50.future water supplies, I now have great pleasure in declaring the
:22:50. > :22:58.scheme of formally open. And in 1991, she launched her first
:22:58. > :23:08.ship on the Tyne. I name this ship, James Clark Ross. May God bless her
:23:08. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:14.and all who sail in her. We worked a bit more sophisticated than
:23:14. > :23:19.swinging the thing on the road. She pressed a handle and it fell
:23:19. > :23:29.forward and hit the ship and smashed. You could smell the
:23:29. > :23:30.
:23:30. > :23:34.champagne four yards around. People say, I tasted the Royal champagne!
:23:35. > :23:44.They got a chance to meet the Queen but when you go to the reception,
:23:45. > :23:45.
:23:45. > :23:52.the Tweed is -- the Queen is guided by someone. We would have been in
:23:52. > :23:59.the right the lads scored! For the Antarctic Survey vessel, it was one
:23:59. > :24:06.of the last ships ever built at Swan Hunter's. Everyone went to see
:24:06. > :24:13.the launch, especially with the screen -- Queen being there.
:24:13. > :24:18.shipyard was on its knees. If you look demand this shipyard, the
:24:18. > :24:28.births were empty. Two years afterwards, the administrators were
:24:28. > :24:36.
:24:36. > :24:41.called in. I walked out with a 1991 it is one when the industry
:24:41. > :24:49.was dying and the Queen was holding that industry -- beginning of
:24:49. > :24:55.another. A microchip plant hoping had gone like clockwork. Everything
:24:55. > :25:03.had been rehearsed down to the last detail. All of a sudden, I thought,
:25:03. > :25:10.where the hell is the red carpet? It was suddenly found and put down
:25:10. > :25:19.ready just in time. The Queen insisting on entering the clean
:25:20. > :25:24.room which meant donning the right clothing. She had the right to wear
:25:24. > :25:29.whatever she wanted but we had to say that unless there was a minimal
:25:29. > :25:34.standard, she would not have been able to go in. She agreed to the
:25:34. > :25:40.now rather famous cap. It looks a bit like a shower cap. What you
:25:40. > :25:45.have to do is go through an air shower which shakes of the last
:25:45. > :25:51.remnants of dust and dirt and that involves turning around. As she
:25:51. > :26:01.came through, she said to me, now what does that do other than make
:26:01. > :26:09.
:26:09. > :26:15.When I went to meet the Queen I thought, I might relieve meeting
:26:15. > :26:24.here? What's happening? It didn't sink in to tell you the truth.
:26:24. > :26:27.took me a few days to come down from the high that I was on.
:26:27. > :26:34.Sitting beside her and getting to know her and the wonderful way she
:26:34. > :26:40.treated me. Meeting her Majesty, steering Fujitsu through that day
:26:40. > :26:45.was absolutely the best day of my life. She left behind a rosy glow
:26:45. > :26:55.but nothing could change world economics. The bottom fell out of
:26:55. > :26:58.
:26:58. > :27:08.the UK microchip market and the The day is over, the crowds are
:27:08. > :27:12.
:27:12. > :27:17.A pause to take it all in. Minutes after the Queen had left, everyone
:27:17. > :27:22.had a big sigh of relief it had gone smoothly. I remember we then
:27:22. > :27:27.had the task of dismantling the bunting, the flags had to come down,
:27:27. > :27:32.the lifeboat had to be put back on station as it was a serving boat. I
:27:32. > :27:41.remember there was a quite substantial party in a boat house
:27:41. > :27:46.that evening. It was almost like, pinch me! Did the Queen just come
:27:46. > :27:54.to our house and how she just flown off in a helicopter? We stood as a
:27:54. > :28:01.family and waved hair off. Then we came back and popped the champagne
:28:01. > :28:09.-- waved her off. When I saw of -- see the Queen on the television now,
:28:09. > :28:14.I have nothing but admiration for her. When did she get time for
:28:14. > :28:20.family life and grandchildren? is a job that I would really hate.
:28:20. > :28:24.Never being able to switch off and always knowing that duty came first.
:28:24. > :28:30.I would get rid of the royal family, not by cutting their heads off,
:28:30. > :28:36.like the French, but by ignoring them totally. I've just got to hold
:28:36. > :28:41.my hands up and say, I'm in a minority. It won't change my view.
:28:41. > :28:45.Of all the pictures of the famous pictures I've played against and