'Sandringham WI will never be the same without Queen' says chairman

The Women's Institute where the Queen was president said it would "never be the same" following her death.

The Queen joined the WI in 1943 and became president of the Sandringham branch in 2003, following in the footsteps of the Queen Mother.

Yvonne Browne, vice president and branch chairman, spoke of the fun they had and how "she was part of us".

"She will be greatly missed at our January meetings and they'll never be the same," she said.

The Queen last attended the winter meeting of the Sandringham WI at West Newton Village Hall in 2019, when she took part in a live version of TV quiz show Pointless, hosted by Alexander Armstrong.

Mrs Browne said the Queen "very much enjoyed [the quiz] because it was one of her favourite programmes, that was a lovely moment".

She said Armstrong "just couldn't believe he'd actually been in a normal village hall with the Queen having a game of Pointless with the ladies of Sandringham WI".

"I have to say, the Queen's team won and I wasn't on the Queen's team," she added.

Mrs Browne said of the meetings, you "always knew when the Queen was going to leave because her chair went back slightly, lipstick came out of the handbag, she put her lipstick on and I think that was the cue to the lady in waiting that we were getting ready to leave".

The Queen missed the 2020 meeting due to a cold, with the following year's meeting cancelled because of the pandemic.

Earlier this year the Queen hosted a reception at Sandringham House for volunteer groups, pensioners and fellow members of the WI group, to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

Mrs Browne said: "She had an incredible memory and sense of fun. She was just terrific."

The chairman said the Queen had "grown up with a lot of the ladies we have and all are part of the same community".

"She supported the ethos of the WI - the fun, friendship and education, and she really did enjoy coming to the January meetings.

"The two hours she was there, she was part of us. Yes, she was the Queen, and we gave all the due respect, but for that short time she was a lady, just as us, and enjoying what we had to offer.

"We all just had such a wonderful time."

A guest speaker at a Sandringham WI meeting in 2013 was the current Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk and former BBC journalist, Carol Bundock.

She said the winter meeting was "a private visit with a couple of dozen WI members, a couple of security men and the Queen".

Mrs Bundock said: "I'd seen her on many occasions but never actually met her and I could barely speak I was so frightened, but she sat there probably five or six feet from me.

"I did my talk and I was then introduced to her afterwards and she was absolutely charming. We ended up talking about cocker-spaniels, she was lovely."

Mrs Bundock said the Queen gave a speech before her talk and "made a joke about how she entered the Olympic Stadium [in 2012]", making reference to how she appeared to arrive at the opening ceremony by parachute after being collected by James Bond.

She then started giving out competition prizes at the WI. "I will never forget the sight of the Queen handing over oven gloves," Mrs Bundock said.