I didn’t know my nervousness was that obvious, but when it came to my turn, he shook my hand and he said: “I don’t bite, you don’t need to be that nervous around me. You’ve worked hard to get this far and you should be proud of yourself. All that bullying you got… sod them.”
A number of lads present had never been to London before, let alone Buckingham Palace, so it was all a little overwhelming to some of us and our parents. It was a strange feeling walking through courtyards and the building itself, which we had only seen on TV previously and I’m sure we were all fairly nervous. It was also a strange feeling being on the inside of the railings looking out at the usual crowds of onlookers.
– A couple of quotes from local people who met the Duke of Edinburgh. We have a feature in the May Ilkeston Life newspaper in which six people (so far) describe in their own words coming face to face with Prince Philip.
