John Craven The Day I Met the Queen

90 years ago, our longest-serving monarch,

Queen Elizabeth II, was born.

Since then, millions of us have met her and many have got close.

You're having a good old stare at the Queen, aren't you?

Oh, yes, we are. Had a good view of her.

But how well do we know her

and how well does she know us?

She said to me

that she doesn't feel properly dressed without a handbag.

This is Her Majesty as you've never seen her before.

Good Queen hair you've got going on there.

I was completely paralysed as this amazing icon walked over my gangway.

A people's portrait of the Queen.

She is on our stamps and she's on our coins, and she's in our hearts.

How you doing?

In this series, Ainsley Harriott cooks up a coronation treat in London.

Come on, let's wave together, then.

Ohhh! Look at them!

Carol Kirkwood meets the pint-size pony who munched on Her Majesty.

No, bless him! Did the Queen think it was funny? She thought it was hilarious.

She knows Shetlands, so she knows they've got a mind of their own.

And as for me, well, I'm going to be out and about

in a part of the world that takes me back to my roots.

And I'll be talking to people about a day that will live

for ever in their memories.

Where am I?

Well, I'll be navigating my way round a large chunk of Britain

that's famous for being our industrial heartland.

Yes, I'm on a grand tour of the Midlands and the North of England.

The Queen gets a big welcome here,

from Gateshead Stadium in 2012...

Her Majesty the Queen, make some noise for the Queen!

..to a duck bus in Liverpool...

..and on the canals of Burnley.

I'm lucky enough to have met quite a few members of the royal family.

I've interviewed Prince Philip and Princess Anne and Prince Charles...

who was the guest editor on Countryfile

when it celebrated its 25th birthday.

We had a nice chat.

Do you ever get the time to sit down and watch Countryfile?

You might very well think so, John. I couldn't possibly comment.

But the Queen, of course, never gives interviews

and I've only really met her up close once,

and today I'm going to be talking to lots of people

who've met her in different circumstances

to try to build up a picture of what the Queen is really like

in the eyes of her subjects.

For starters, what do the people of my hometown, Leeds,

think of our Queen?

She's doing really well for herself considering her age.

She's done well to get to 90, really, hasn't she?

But I suppose she gets the full service, she's like the Bentley of human beings, so...

Yes, well, my nana's the same age and my nana shares the same birthday as the Queen,

and her famous saying is - well, my nana's -

is, "If the Queen can do it, I can do it!"

I think the...Queen Elizabeth should come here, to Leeds,

and we would organise her a big party, a special party for her.

We wish you a happy birthday, Your Majesty.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Queen Elizabeth!

During her lifetime, Her Majesty has seen the North of England

and the Midlands in good times and bad.

In 1949, before becoming our Queen, she visited the Potteries.

And in 1975, she donned a hard hat to meet the miners

at Silverstone Colliery.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

But when the Queen came to Bradford in 1997

to open a new stand at the football stadium,

she was visiting a city that was still recovering

from a disaster that stunned the whole world.

Saturday 11th May 1985 is a date that the people of Bradford

will never forget.

A horrific fire, the worst in football history,

broke out here, at Bradford City's home ground.

On that day, the stands were crammed with a record

number of supporters, who'd come to see their team, Bradford City,

crowned Division 3 champions.

But the victory celebrations soon turned to tragedy

as the fire broke out.

NEWSREEL: And that looks very nasty indeed.

Now, the police have gone over there to try and quell the fire

and they're frantically getting some of the supporters out.

One hopes the stand doesn't burn down.

Although some fans could escape onto the pitch,

those that went to the back of the stand

found the turnstiles locked.

They were trapped.

I can see the orange of the flames.

The game is actually stopped here at Valley Parade.

It looks like there could be a situation of panic,

but all the time people are spilling onto the pitch

and we can see the flames going up into the air there.

Some people are saying, "Get onto that pitch!"

265 people were injured that day

and 56 football fans lost their lives.

The list of those who perished includes grandfathers

and parents with their children.

Four of those who died were just 11 years old.

Like everyone, the Queen was shocked,

but so moved by individual acts of bravery

that she recognised 22 people with awards.

Pictured here outside Buckingham Palace after meeting the Queen

is Inspector Terry Slocombe.

He was on duty at the ground on the day of the fire.

Well, the fire was so hot... I mean, looking at the pitch,

the grass was burnt a third of the way across the pitch -

that's how hot it was.

And with it being a pitched roof, and timber,

the heat had risen, gathered and then it was a flash across.

So what could you do? How many police were here, how many...?

In the ground, probably, at that time, there'd be about...

..perhaps about 20 police officers at that time.

But once people realised what was happening,

a lot of people were running up to the wall, getting people out.

People weren't moving, to start off with,

cos they didn't realise just what it was.

I mean, did you actually personally rescue people?

Yeah. We got...three or four people out of here.

Er, we had to... We had to give up when

the policeman at the side of me, his hair caught fire. David Britton.

We couldn't do anything else then.

And then, down at the bottom corner, there used to be some gents' toilets

and Charlie Mawson, my fellow inspector...

We saw some people trapped in the toilets

and so we went and got them out.

There was a groundsman there and he'd been getting water

out of the urinals to pour on people, just to...

Just to cool them down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

You got the Queen's Medal for Gallantry

from Her Majesty herself.

I did, yes. But it was an honour to go down.

I mean, she's so gracious. She's so...

Puts you at ease.

I mean, here you are, in the company of the person leading the country,

and yet...just talks to you normally,

and she knows what's happened.

I know it's a funny connotation,

but it's like bumping into a friend, in a way,

because straightaway you can... you can talk.

And she's so familiar anyway, you know. Oh, yeah, yeah.

And she knows what you're there for,

you know, she's done her research, she knows.

And did she mention anything to you about the fire?

Yes, she said that she'd seen the films of it

and she said it was such a tragedy.

She also said that she cared for the people of Bradford.

But this tragedy led to a massive step forward

in the treatment of burns.

David Sharpe was a young surgeon who found himself dealing with

people who'd suffered burn injuries while escaping the fire.

At that stage it was pandemonium and chaos,

with hundreds of victims.

258 people actually suffered burns,

but we had a wonderful team at Bradford Royal Infirmary...

nurses and people who were used to dealing with hand burns,

and so they sort of had a production line, almost.

Remarkably, Professor Sharpe had just invented a revolutionary

new device, which played a huge role that day, the Bradford Sling.

Well, it's an arm-supporting device.

It's a sling, basically, but it is adjustable,

so you can get the angle of the elbow...

Shall I...try it? Er, yeah, let's try it on you, yeah.

And then it has the advantage of being adjustable

and it's also very comfortable.

If you want a different angle then you can adjust

the Velcro at the back. Oh, I see, yeah.

And then this goes on to a... a stand.

So your arm is elevated, so fluid, swelling will gradually go down.

And when you go out of the hospital,

you can just put it across your head, like this,

and so it's like an...what you'd imagine any sling is. Yeah, yeah.

So this Bradford Sling must have come in very handy on that big day.

I know, it did,

and it's remarkable that that's how it worked out.

So we had a stack of them

and I think...some of the photographs now of the ward,

you can see patients all with both hands in the air.

Mostly, we found the injuries were on the hands and forearms and scalp.

Yeah. Shall I relieve you of this for a minute? Yes, thank you.

Not that it shouldn't be comfortable!

Professor Sharpe didn't stop there.

He used the profits from selling the Bradford Sling

to set up a burns research unit at the university.

Bradford has become one of the leading centres in the UK

for developing new ways to help burn victims.

For what you did in Bradford on that day

the Queen awarded you the OBE, so congratulations for that.

Well, thank you. Did you actually meet the Queen?

Was it the Queen who handed it to you? Yes.

It was indeed and I'd been sort of warned beforehand

that she will shake your hand and then gradually push you away,

and I was caught out because, as I stepped up to receive the gong,

I just wasn't expecting that sort of...social intercourse, really.

Easy to become overcome by the moment, isn't it?

Absolutely, it's an emotional thing.

And, for me, I'd managed to survive the first ten days

looking after burns victims,

and then suddenly the whole thing overwhelms you...

and I suffer from what my daughter calls emotional incontinence

and so, when you go to something like that,

it does bring it home. Yeah.

Within a few minutes on that terrible day, life ended or changed

for so many people who'd just come to enjoy a football match.

Well, anybody who wasn't actually here at this stadium on that day

will find it hard to imagine just how horrific it all was.

And obviously, from what I've just heard,

memories are still vivid 30-odd years on from that disaster.

Of course, the stadium here is nothing like it was in those days.

But thanks to - in a way, in an awful way - to what happened,

things have changed so much.

This stadium is a very safe place now.

While the disaster will never be forgotten,

I'm sure that when the Queen visited to open

a section of the new stadium,

and pay her respects,

it must have played a part in helping the city to heal.

Returning to this area has brought back lots of memories

because I was born just down the road at Headingley in Leeds.

Well, there's the Headingley cricket ground, rugby league ground.

When I was a kid, I used to make a bit of money on the side

by going collecting all the empty beer bottles and pop bottles,

and taking them back to the off-licence

and getting the money on them.

And this is Ash Road, one of my old stomping grounds.

Here's the newsagent's shop coming up

where I used to do a paper round from.

It's now a student housing centre

cos I think this area has now become very much student digs.

And...this is Grimthorpe Street,

where...I actually lived with my sister and mum and dad.

Not changed at all, by the look of it.

Very much the same as it used to be.

Yeah.

My first memory of the Queen dates back to

when I was living here as a child.

We didn't have a TV back then and I remember going to a friend's house

to watch the coronation in 1953.

It was a long time ago, so I've arranged to meet up

with my sister, Jean, who shared the momentous moment with me.

Hello! Hello! About time! I've been here ages!

I'm sorry! How are you?

I'm fine, thanks. How are you?

We're going for a trip - a royal trip - down memory lane.

Oh, wow! Look! That's it. That's a television, isn't it?

Bush nine-inch telly. It's wonderful. Yes, absolutely!

We watched the coronation on that.

We did, we did, we went to a neighbour's

and we all huddled round the TV.

I don't know how many there was. Can you remember? I was so young. The room was packed with people, yeah.

Black and white, of course.

The first time we'd ever seen television.

Yes, because the only news

I had ever seen was on at the cinema, the Pathe news.

Yeah. That was quite special.

So we all gathered round and we were watching television,

and we couldn't believe that, in this room... It was live.

..we were seeing Her Majesty the Queen being crowned.

Yes, absolutely wonderful. Fantastic.

And every little girl wants to be a princess

and here we were watching a princess being made into a Queen.

It was just amazing.

'And less of an event for the nation, but still big for me,

'it was on this Pye 14-inch, our very first TV set,

'that my family would have watched my first ever broadcast.'

Used to do a youth club programme on ITV called The Sunday Break.

Was that with Sam Wanamaker?

That's right, Sam Wanamaker, he was there.

Yeah, I was about 17 at the time.

It was very special to see you on television as well.

It was very special to see the Queen

and it was very special to see you, too.

Well, thank you.

'According to my sister, I was destined to be a broadcaster.'

He always liked to present and...

SHE LAUGHS

Do you remember Dad had...?

He rigged up the radio and we had a microphone,

and John used to go upstairs into his bedroom

and we all used to have to sit huddled round the radio

listening to him reading the news. "Now, this is John Craven..."

Yeah. Reading it from the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Er, and the microphone,

I think I asked for it as my 11th birthday present or something.

I don't know why I wanted a microphone, but I did. Well, obviously...why!

Little did we know that you would actually meet her,

when we saw her so many years before, when you got your OBE.

I know.

Mr John Craven, for services to rural and children's broadcasting.

What did you feel then?

Well, it was amazing. I never even dreamed I would get one.

Were you nervous when you met the Queen?

I would have been extremely nervous.

Oh, I was, too. I thought I wouldn't be because, you know,

I'm supposed to be...have everything under control as a TV presenter,

but I was shaking like mad.

I would have been, too.

Norman Wisdom was there. Was he?

Yeah, Norman Wisdom got his knighthood. Oh, really?

Yeah. Giggling. Was he giggling? He was...

We were having a laugh beforehand

and he said, "I've got a little plan. I've got a little plan."

And when she'd put the sword on his shoulders and he'd stepped back

and he was walking away, he did his famous little trip. Oh, did he?!

And the Queen thought it very funny.

She smiled a lot at that, yeah.

You fancy being on telly, doing my job?

Oh, not... Talking to camera? Not really.

'They also have a mock TV studio here

'and I'm wondering if Jean's got what it takes.

'What does she think of our Queen?'

I think she's wonderful.

I think she's been the perfect Queen.

I think she's amazing doing the work she does, still, at her age,

and I just hope that when I'm 90 I look as good

and can do as much as she does - it would be wonderful.

Well, I'll tell you something, you're pretty good on television.

I'd better watch out! THEY LAUGH

Her Majesty receives 300 letters every day from people across her kingdom,

many inviting her to their special events.

But of course no-one expects the Queen to actually turn up,

so, when Frances and John got married in 2012,

they were in for a big surprise.

I'm popping into their Manchester salon...

Hello!

..to get the lowdown. I may as well get a trim at the same time.

What really happened, we booked the town hall

to get married in Manchester and...

..about three weeks before the wedding,

we got told that there was going to be a very special person come there.

When we found out, obviously, it was going to be the Queen... Yeah, yeah.

..we were, like, "Gosh." She was going to be there, at...?

Where we were going to get married,

she was going to be in the room next to us. Wow.

So, obviously, it was very exciting.

So John decided to write a letter and I said to him, "God..."

This is John here. How you doing, sir? All right?

So what did you say in your letter?

I asked, if she'd got a couple of minutes spare,

to knock on and bob in, and we'll get her a couple of stools.

Because she was next door. Because she was only next door.

After the ceremony, the couple were ushered into a small room

and given the big news - the Queen had, in John's words,

decided to bob in.

It was quite a shock, really, because obviously we didn't expect it and...

thought it was lovely gesture. Yeah.

At that point, Frances had a panic attack

because she didn't realise that she'd have to curtsey and she'd never done one.

We had about five minutes to get ourselves together, didn't we? It was quite strange.

And then eventually the Queen and Prince Philip came out of this door,

and that was...they came over and they were lovely.

Most married couples are proud of their wedding album,

but this one really is something special.

These are all beautiful photographs,

what you might call "standard wedding photographs", you know,

with all the family in and everybody enjoying themselves.

But I'm waiting to come to the picture that makes all this very...

There! There you go. There is Her Majesty.

You curtsied very nicely.

I did, considering I didn't know how to!

The Queen about to shake your hand.

Yeah, I didn't know whether I was going to pass out there! Yeah?

To the guests' amazement, they were allowed to use

their camera phones, which soon made John and Frances headline news.

I was so nervous at the fact I was going to meet her...

I spoke to her first.

What did you say?

I just said, "It's an honour to meet you, Your Majesty."

She just took my hand and held it really tight.

I think she knew I was very nervous.

What did you make of her?

Oh, I love the royal family.

I'm a big fan, always have been, always will be.

The Queen, you know, she is the queen of Queens.

She is what she is.

Around the world, I think in every royal family,

anybody would say that she is the cream of the crop.

What a wedding album to have, eh?

Nobody else has got anything like this!

What a lovely story.

And I'm pretty sure the Queen knew

that her surprise visit to that wedding

would mean so much to the happy couple.

And did you happen to notice her handbag in those wedding pictures?

The Queen is never without one

and I'm on my way now to meet the people who made that very one.

Over the years, the Queen has become renowned for wearing bright colours,

pearl necklaces

and pristine white gloves.

She's worn over 10,000 outfits to official engagements

and she always has a handbag to match.

In 1991, the Queen visited the factory that makes

her favourite handbags.

Back then, they were based in London.

They've kept their sign, but have moved to the Midlands.

Kevin Morris is at the heart of it all.

He's responsible for cutting and shaping all the expensive

Italian leather and he met the Queen when she visited.

Were you surprised that she was so interested?

Yeah, I was because, at the end of the day, I thought a bag's a bag,

and she probably has so many of them from some other places,

but I find out that she only uses ours, virtually.

So what does it feel like?

It's a great feeling to say that I've made a bag for the Queen.

Managing director Gerald Bodner has met the Queen several times.

He and his wife design the handbags.

I'm hoping he'll spill the beans about what she keeps in them!

Has she got a favourite one, do you know?

I think the favourite one is the Traviata,

which is the one on the front - that's the one she carries.

If I wanted to buy that handbag, how much would it cost?

?1,500. ?1,500, wow!

That's a lot for a handbag. There's a lot of work in it.

It takes us eight hours to make that bag.

Right. It's obviously leather, but... Ah, ah!

Oh, can I not touch it?

Yes, you can, but you must push the fitting.

Oh, right, sorry!

What kind of leather is this?

This is patent leather.

She carries a patent. She carries calf as well.

And what's inside?

It has a place to put your mobile phone

and it has zip pockets, and it has a mirror.

The Queen takes a mobile with her then?

I don't know, but I'm told she uses one.

Is there a purse in there?

There would be for her. We would make a purse for her.

Does she have money in it?

I've not the faintest idea.

The rumour is that she doesn't carry money.

I wouldn't think she does, but you don't know what she has in there.

On photos I've seen of her with a bag, she has a much longer handle.

She does. She has a longer handle,

probably easier to get her hand through it.

The Queen's handbags are specially made.

As well as a longer strap,

hers are lined with silk, rather than suede, to make them lighter.

She needs lighter because now she is a bit older,

and the last few bags, we've also made some with frames,

but I don't have any here.

Also, she seems to be never without it...in public.

She believes she is not properly dressed.

I don't know about your wife, but my wife is the same.

They go out with a handbag.

She said to me that she doesn't feel properly dressed without a handbag.

And she is not above getting her favourites repaired.

It's the women here, at the factory,

that not only make them, but mend them.

You put everything into the bag

because you know it's for Her Majesty.

They also make wallets for the Prince of Wales.

Barbara is a fan of all the royals, especially the Queen.

I mean, I'm just mad about her.

She's phenomenal, isn't she?

She is just super, I think.

A wonderful lady.

It's handbag heaven

and, as you might expect, everyone has their favourite.

I like the ostrich handbags that they make

and the exotic leathers, they're really nice.

Barbara ain't having this one - it's mine.

There might be a fight!

Very expensive. I'll never have one, but I'd like one.

Leaving present!

When I leave, in June, this is what I want.

Yeah, that's mine as well.

And the ladies have one rumour they're willing to share.

We think that she uses different codes of how she holds her handbag

to indicate when she wants to move on or speak to someone different.

We don't know for definite, but that's what we've heard.

Wishing you a very happy 90th birthday, Your Majesty.

You're a wonderful person.

The Queen made just as big an impression

when she travelled north to Halifax in 2004.

It's a day that this local shop keeper will never forget.

I didn't want to miss the chance of seeing the Queen

and the Duke,

and I got my two daughters out of school for the day.

They didn't get a holiday for that particular day,

but I didn't want them to miss the opportunity as well.

We made our way to the hall,

managed to get in front of the crowd, get a bird's eye view

and, lucky me, she actually stopped and had a chat with me.

She started asking me, "Do you live local?"

I said, "Yeah, just around the corner. I've got a newsagents."

She said, "Who's running the shop at the moment?"

I said, "The missus!"

We all had a little giggle when I said "the missus".

But, no, she is really nice to talk to, down to earth.

Not snobby and...really good.

I mean, the kids, the daughters,

they loved it, actually seeing the Queen. Awesome.

There are few things more stirring for me

than the sight of a steam locomotive charging through

the stunning countryside, here in the North.

It's industry, agriculture and ingenuity all rolled into one.

And I have it on good authority

the Queen's rather fond of steam trains as well -

she's even got one named after her.

And this is it, the Princess Elizabeth, named in honour

of Her Majesty when she was seven years old in 1933.

This magnificent engine, built in the North of England,

had a big year in 2012.

She was chosen to play a key role

in the spectacular pageant on the Thames,

which kicked off the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour.

A blast on the horn from the Princess Elizabeth...

.was the signal for 1,000 boats to parade past Her Majesty.

Hip, hip!

CROWD: Hooray!

Hip, hip!

Hooray!

Better still, two months later,

Lizzie the engine got to actually pull the royal train

for the first time ever, as the Queen travelled north.

And it's all down to this 11-year-old lad, Josh,

an enthusiastic member of the Princess Elizabeth Society,

who sent a daring letter to the Queen.

I've come to Tyesley near Birmingham to meet up with Josh, who is now 16.

Joining us is Bob Meanley,

who was the chief engineer on the Princess Elizabeth

when they had the Queen on board.

It's not easy, is it? No!

You wrote a letter to Buckingham Palace.

Yes, I wrote a letter to Buckingham Palace,

asking if the locomotive could do anything during the Diamond Jubilee.

You added something at the bottom of your letter, didn't you?

What did you say? Yes.

I added, "Please make sure Her Majesty sees this".

The confidence of an 11-year-old. It obviously worked. Yeah!

Somebody saw it because it all happened, didn't it?

Had you ever dreamed that one day the Princess Elizabeth

might be towing a train with Queen Elizabeth on board?

Well, I joined the society way back in 1967

and it was really a wild dream to expect that we were ever

going to get it out on the royal train, so...

It was, I suppose, the combination of a pretty wild dream

and a very great privilege to be able to do it.

Josh, did you get to meet the Queen as well?

Yes, I got to meet her as well. What do you remember of that day?

I was both amazed and terrified

to have such a privilege to meet the Queen.

Anyone would be terrified and truly amazed to do that.

What did you make of her?

She seemed really nice and kind.

It seemed like I didn't need to be scared. She seemed more normal.

The thing that struck me most of all was, yes, she was approachable,

but I left, really, with the feeling that you had just met someone

who had met probably everybody that was anybody anywhere in the world

in the last 60 years,

and it's quite a spooky thought when you think about it.

There she was, having a chat with you. Yes!

On this occasion, the Queen wasn't wearing gloves,

something a young Josh noticed,

and he remembers exactly what he said at the time.

I said I that I will never wash my hands again.

But you did.

Yes, I did.

I think it's great

that the Queen took notice of an 11-year-old's letter

and made his dream come true.

Over the years, the Queen's train journeys

have taken her all over the Midlands and the North.

'Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by Prince Philip,

'is welcomed by the Lord Lieutenant of Humberside.'

Her visits are organised locally by the Lord Lieutenant

and every region has one.

You can easily spot the men with the title

because they're kitted out in military-style uniform.

The women Lord Lieutenants make do with a simple badge of office.

Here in West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe has had the job since 2004.

The top priority, when the Queen comes to Yorkshire,

is to pick venues that she is going to find interesting,

and that will obviously profit from her visit to them,

and then we take our programme down to Buckingham Palace

and they rubbish it, or implement it, as it stands.

When the Queen visited Leeds in 2012, Ingrid arranged for her

to visit the newly restored City Varieties Theatre.

Oh, well, yes, she loves variety performances.

You know how she always goes to them each year in London.

The Lord Lieutenants are chosen by the Queen

on the advice of the Prime Minister.

A big part of the job is representing the Queen

at different functions, so Ingrid is often in the spotlight herself.

I'm sure I'm not as busy as the Queen,

but I do do about 160 engagements a year and they all need preparation.

When the Queen came out of the theatre,

she came into Brigate, which is the major shopping street of Leeds.

Here, there were 26,000 people waiting to greet her.

She zigzagged her way right down Brigate

so that she could see as many people as possible.

On occasions like this,

the Queen has 30 plain clothes police officers hidden in the crowd,

keeping a close eye when things go a little off plan.

Prince Philip got his equerries to lift children over the barriers

at each side so that they could come and present flowers to the Queen,

and she had so many that they filled the boots of three Rolls Royces!

They were distributed to hospices and other good causes.

While the Queen is here,

I'm very anxious that she should try and keep to her time schedule

because she is kind to people,

so she could easily lose the time thread.

The Queen is extremely tactful.

She smiles very easily and she enjoys meeting people.

Ma'am, I'd just like to take this opportunity

to wish you a very happy birthday

on behalf of all the people of West Yorkshire.

It's often said the Queen must think the world smells of fresh paint

because someone is usually applying a lick of paint before she arrives.

In Darwen, East Lancashire, there's some truth in that.

Back in 1968, Philip Calvey remembers being involved in a scheme

to tidy up the North -

it was called Operation Spring Clean.

Well, I met the Queen due partly to this house behind me here.

It was suggested to us that, as part of Operation Spring Clean,

we might like to redecorate part of the house.

The lady who lived here was a widow and had been a widow for a while,

so we had nine unruly teenagers turn up to help decorate her house

and I think she was a little bit bewildered when we arrived.

As nine amateurs, I think we did a reasonably good job.

A few months later, our headmaster mentioned the fact

that the Queen would be visiting the town to view the work

that had been done through Operation Spring Clean

and...we had been selected for our small contribution

to meet the Queen.

I was absolutely terrified.

As I shook her hand, I heard my mother's voice in my ear

say, "Don't squeeze her hand too hard.

"She has 1,000 people to shake hands with this afternoon."

I survived the experience and, I must admit,

it was one of the highlights of my life.

And from a personal, selfish point of view,

it looked good on the CV later in life!

Meeting the Queen is a big deal for anyone.

I'm heading to Sheffield now to meet a rather special person,

who got the jitters collecting her MBE at Buckingham Palace itself.

Quite a place you've got here, isn't it? It is!

Karen Hague set up this special school, Paces,

which is all about helping to improve life

for disabled children and their families.

Nice...steps.

Can you tell me exactly what happens here?

Yes. We have a school for children with cerebral palsy

and similar conditions, so they have physical and learning difficulties.

..six, seven, eight, nine, ten!

We help them get the skills they need...

..stretch up, try to reach the ceiling!

..in order to be as independent as possible.

I stand up. I stand up.

That's the point of it, is it, independence?

It is, yes. They might go on to mainstream school

or learn to live independently as well,

that is what we would consider a success.

Why do you call it Paces?

You might associate the word "pace" with walking

and that's what try to help them achieve.

The steps forward you can take. Yes.

Push...

As well as normal school lessons, like maths and English,

the children practice their mobility...

..with my right hand...

..and independence skills...

Very good!

..through a series of set exercises every day.

Tell me about the day you met the Queen. Were you nervous?

I was very nervous. Yes, I was very nervous

and even more so because, as you cross the forecourt

to Buckingham Palace, you finally appreciate how vast it is.

A very grand place. Very grand, yeah.

And what about the Queen herself?

She was very charming and quite radiant.

I was quite surprised how radiant she looked.

I'm not supposed to speak until I'm spoken to,

but I found myself mouthing "hello" to her.

Karen Hague, for services to children and families

requiring specialist care in Sheffield.

I didn't vocalise it, I just mouthed it,

and it took her back a little bit,

but she soon regained her composure.

The person who was perhaps most proud of her mum that day,

and the inspiration behind Paces, is Karen's own daughter Kirsten.

Hello. Hi! Which is Kirsten?

Kirsten is here. Hello, Kirsten.

And who else have we got? We've got Sarah. Hello, Sarah.

And we've got Martin, with Jackie helping out today.

Kirsten is unable to speak,

but manages to communicate with her mum and the people who know her.

For the last four years, she's been living independently

in a bungalow that she shares with Sarah.

What about going out?

Do you go out with friends and things like that?

Are you out tonight? Yes!

Were you out last night? Were you out last night? Yes!

You're going to a nightclub tonight with your friends, aren't you?

In Sheffield. Are you looking forward to that? Yeah.

You must be very proud of your mum, Kirsten, are you?

Are you proud of me at all, Kirsten? Yes. Thank you.

I must say, I can't help but notice what's over here.

My eye has caught this -

obviously some of the handy work that has been done here

with all that wool and felt.

Look what it is.

It's a corgi!

Is that for the Queen?

Is it specially made for the Queen, everybody?

Is it? For her birthday, her 90th birthday.

We're asking everybody if they'll say "happy birthday" to the Queen

because she is 90.

Happy Birthday, Queen!

I think the Queen would love this picture

and I like the fact that her awards go to some of our unsung heroes -

people like Karen.

The Queen, of course, has seen many changes over her 90 years,

not just in her country and the Commonwealth,

but even in her own family,

which has grown to include eight grandchildren.

And he just pulled a big flower out of the big vase

and gave it to me. Ahh!

Nora Collins in St Helens has lived through just as many changes

because she was born on 21st April 1926,

the same day as the Queen.

Nora was raised on a farm in Northern Ireland,

where she looked after the animals.

It's a story her family,

and especially her seven-year-old grand-daughter Daisy,

love to hear about.

We had hens and dogs,

not geese.

I don't think we had any geese,

but we had turkeys at Christmas time.

Did you have to look after them?

Yeah, I did look after them.

How many horses did you have? We only ever had two, I think.

Maybe three.

That is one thing you've got in common, the horses.

The Queen married Prince Philip in 1947,

while Nora married Henry in 1956.

Like the Queen, Nora will celebrate her 90th birthday with her husband,

who reckons that she and the Queen have another thing in common.

They're both very stoic, aren't they?

They keep their nose to the grindstone.

It gets to you when you get old.

Nora met the Queen when she went to Buckingham Palace

to celebrate their 80th birthdays.

What was it like to meet the Queen?

Oh, she was very nice. Just relaxed with you?

Yes, with everybody.

Would you like to meet the Queen? Yes.

And if you did, what would you ask her?

Do you know my grandma?

Wishing you a very happy 90th birthday.

Slainte!

Well, I've come to the end now

of my journey through the North and the Midlands,

meeting people who have met the Queen.

What have I learnt from them, then, about the Queen as a person?

Well, they all think that she is incredibly real,

that there is no edge to her,

that she makes them feel really comfortable in her presence,

no matter how nervous they might feel,

that she makes them think that they are as important to her

as the great leaders of the world that she meets.

I think she is a kind of catalyst, you know,

and, because of her, I've heard some amazing stories

about the people who have met her,

who've been lucky enough to shake her hand.

So, happy birthday, Ma'am.

Join me, Patrick Kielty,

in a brand-new BBC Two quiz show, Debatable,

where a team of celebrities put their debating skills to the test

to try to win their contestants pots of cash.

Will they help, or will they hinder? That's Debatable.