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Royal News

The Duchess of Edinburgh and a ‘once in a lifetime’ moment

The Duchess of Edinburgh rolled her sleeves up to get cooking and it turned into a moment described as ‘once in a lifetime’ by her fellow chefs.

Sophie was in Barleylands in Essex to focus on food but as she got busy in the kitchen, she made some dreams come true.

She was joined by local schoolchildren from St. Cedd’s in Chelmsford and Manor Primary School in Dagenham for a Kitchen Classroom at Barleylands, nestled in beautiful fields just outside Billericay.

Royal Family/ Instagram

They were all learning how food is grown and the journey it has to take to get from the field to someone’s plate. And as they tried their hands at making pizza and ice cream, Sophie gave them some tips and help.

Later, the school pupils described their royal cookery class as a ”once in a lifetime experience”.

The royal visit also marked a special time for Barleylands Farm and Village as it reaches forty years of educating children in Essex and east London.

Later, the Duchess of Edinburgh met some of the birds of prey looked after at Barleylands and had a go flying a barn owl.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Editor in Chief at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.