During her visit to Somerset, Her Majesty met thousands of members of the public during her engagements. With hundreds of handshakes, The Queen happened to bump into a very familiar face.
During a visit to King’s Bruton Boarding School, The Queen was reunited with her in-law, Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones, the father of her daughter-in-law, the Countess of Wessex. The two shook hands and chatted. Sophie’s dad was present due to being a former pupil of the school.
The Queen visited the school to open a new music department that was named in her honour, The Queen Elizabeth Music School, for King’s Bruton 500th anniversary. The Queen was given a tour of the new department by headmaster Ian Wilmhurst. While touring one of the rooms, Her Majesty ran into Sam Innes, an 18-year-old piano student, who had his chance to play for the famous monarch.
“My piano teacher said to give it [the piano] a cheeky play, and the Queen said, ‘oh do.’ I played some Chopin. It was really scary!’
Innes went on to add: “She said that we had a lovely facility and that it must be lovely to play in here.”
One notable parent at the school is The Corrs former percussionist, Caroline Corr who is not only a sponsor but her two children attend King’s as well.
“I had first met The Queen many years ago in 2002 at the Jubilee Concert,” Corr said after their meeting. “There had been a lot of musicians in the line-up, but when I said I’d met her, she did show some recognition. It was very quick then, and I got to speak to her for longer this time, which was lovely. I told her that I have two children at the school and she also asked about the percussion rooms. She was so warm and so interested.”
Before leaving, Her Majesty unveiled a plaque and signed a guest book. Presented with a posy by a young girl named Alice, a year three child from Hazlegrove Primary School, The Queen remarked that the flowers “match my dress.”
Alice later admitted that she was “a bit nervous” but said that The Queen was “really nice.”