{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"HM The Queen was very special to Scouts, and we\u2019ll remember her with huge fondness and gratitude.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re deeply saddened by the loss of our Patron, HM The Queen. To honour her memory, we\u2019re looking back on some of the special moments we\u2019ve shared with her. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEver since Scouts volunteered at her Coronation in 1953, The Queen\u2019s had a remarkable impact on our movement. Not only was she our Patron, but she gave her name to the highest award in Scouts, the \u003Ca href=\u0022/top-awards/kings-scout-award/\u0022 title=\u0022Queen\u2019s Scout Award\u0022\u003EQueen\u2019s Scout Award\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHer kindness inspired our members for the entirety of her reign, encouraging them to learn new things, help their communities and think of others before themselves.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERead these special stories about The Queen meeting Scouts, and see just how much she\u2019s meant to our movement over the years.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18640/20070422-gp2q2928_mmp.jpg","width":4380,"height":2920,"altText":"A Scout and Beaver hand over yellow and purple flowers to HM The Queen outside Windsor Castle","caption":"Scouts hand flowers to The Queen at Windsor Castle","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWorld Scouting Awareness Event\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1998, seven members of the Queen\u2019s Scout Working Party helped at a special Scout event at the Natural History Museum in London.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe young helpers had all achieved their Queen\u2019s Scout Award and they kept busy on the evening ushering people to their seats and collecting flowers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Queen heard about the young people helping others and asked to meet them. The young people were asked to go into another room. To their surprise, they were shortly followed by The Queen, the King of Sweden and the King of Spain.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe three monarchs asked the young people about Scouts, chatted with them, and shared some jokes. The group of young people were bowled over to be talking to three heads of state!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EThe Queen\u2019s 80\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E birthday\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Queen publicly celebrated her 80\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E birthday at Windsor Castle. At the celebrations, a Scouts volunteer and two young people presented a special card and bouquet of flowers to The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile meeting The Queen, the young people talked with her about their Scout activities and the changes in the movement throughout her reign.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAndrew Thorp, a Scouts volunteer, remembers chatting to The Queen. He said: \u2018I had the amazing opportunity to meet The Queen on her 80\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E birthday and represent World Scouting. It was incredibly special.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0027The thing that really sticks with me is that she didn\u2019t want the attention to be on her. She wanted it all to be about the Scout movement, to hear all about how we were growing, our membership and all the skills young people were learning.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018She wanted to know all about what I\u2019d done to get my Queen\u2019s Scout Award. She also asked questions about what was happening in our community, what we\u2019d been doing to support others, and all the skills we\u2019d developed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It really was about putting us at ease, making our movement the centre of that moment and helping to shine a spotlight on us.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"We couldn\u2019t have a better example, as she showed for her entire reign, of service to others and really putting others first.","attribution":"Andrew Thorp, Scouts volunteer","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EMarking the centenary of Scouts\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Queen celebrated the 100\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E anniversary of Scouts in 2007 and visited Baden-Powell House. While there, she unveiled a bronze bust cast of herself to mark the occasion.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe toured Baden-Powell House, not having visited since 1961. The \u003Ca href=\u0022/about-us/our-people/chief-scout/\u0022 title=\u0022Chief Scout\u0022\u003EChief Scout\u003C/a\u003E at the time, Peter Duncan, spoke to everyone about the centenary celebrations. The Queen passed on her congratulations to the movement on the wonderful milestone.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAmy remembers meeting The Queen at the celebrations when she was 16 years old. She said: \u2018The Queen was tiny, but had a big presence. She was genuinely interested in what everybody was doing. I never felt it was about her. She really wanted to find out about your experiences. She was cheeky \u2013 she had that kind smile, and a glint in her eye.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18641/gp2q6355_mmp.jpg","width":1026,"height":983,"altText":"Amy, an Explorer Scout, stands with former Chief Scout Peter Duncan with HM The Queen on a stage in front of flowers, smiling.","caption":"Amy stands with former Chief Scout Peter Duncan, The Queen and Tom Hylands at our centenary celebrations at Baden-Powell House in 2007","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ESpecial times at Windsor Castle\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEvery year, young people who earned their Queen\u2019s Scout Award would celebrate their achievements in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOver the past 55 years, The Queen has personally reviewed the parade eleven times. Young people shared stories with her and the Chief Scout about adventure, community actions and skills for life.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScout volunteer and Vice President of Nottinghamshire Scouts, Matt Rooney, spoke with The Queen at this special occasion. He said: \u2018I was very lucky to have met The Queen a few times and able to introduce her to young people and adults. She would take a genuine interest in them, in their lives and in their stories.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018She\u0027d ask \u0027How are you?\u0027 \u0027Where are you from?\u0027 and then I\u0027d introduce her to maybe a dozen young people and adults. She would take the time to personalise and connect with every single one of them. Sometimes, it was difficult to move her on to the next person!\u0027\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"When you see Her Majesty walking towards you, your heart races. You feel so proud, excited and a little bit nervous. But, every time I had the privilege to meet her, she put me at ease straight away.","attribution":"Matt Rooney, Scouts volunteer","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18642/photo-2022-09-09-11-30-44.jpg","width":960,"height":640,"altText":"HM The Queen smiles at Scouts with flowers in her hand at Windsor Castle, with Scout volunteer Matt Rooney stood behind her.","caption":"Matt Rooney stands behind HM The Queen as she greets young people at our annual Day of Celebration and Achievement at Windsor Castle","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EVisiting Gilwell Park\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1995, The Queen visited the Training and Skills Centre at Gilwell Park after its redevelopment.\u00A0She saw Scouts taking part in adventurous activities and learning skills for life.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe was accompanied by our Chief Scout at the time, Garth Morrison, who led everyone in renewing their \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/inclusion-and-diversity/including-everyone/faiths-and-beliefs/the-scout-promise/\u0022 title=\u0022The Scout Promise\u0022\u003EScout Promise\u003C/a\u003E. The Queen met staff and talked about Scouts\u2019 plan for the future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne member of staff, Peter Rogers, remembers one of the team asking The Queen if she came from the Palace on the North Circular of the M25. The Queen humorously replied that \u0027with police outriders, all roads provide a fast access!\u0027\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003ERemembering The Queen\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ll certainly miss The Queen, but we\u2019re grateful our Scouts have so many fond memories of meeting her over the years. She was a kind and calm person, who made our young people feel comfortable and took a real interest in their experiences.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"21 September 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Remembering HM The Queen","url":"/news/2022/september/chief-scout-bear-grylls-remembers-hm-the-queen/","newWindow":true}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":76162,"nodeName":"Meeting HM The Queen: Heartwarming stories from our Scouts","title":"Meeting HM The Queen: Stories from our Scouts","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/18579/dsc_5680-edit-3_mmp.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1daf48345e0bb60","caption":"Scouts hand necker to Queen Elizabeth II","type":"jpg","size":2919493,"width":4024,"height":3085,"altText":"Two Scouts in uniform hand a yellow and white necker to Queen Elizabeth II."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Meeting HM The Queen: Stories from our Scouts","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Our Scouts have fond memories of meeting HM The Queen. Read their heartwarming stories.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NjE2MiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/september/meeting-the-queen/"}