Millfield remembers Queen Elizabeth II

We have discovered that many members of our community either met The Queen, attended an event hosted by The Queen or have an interesting connection to her. We will be sharing them in tribute.

Founder of Millfield, Jack 'Boss' Meyer, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for 'services to education' by the Queen during her 1967 birthday honours.

Denise Bodman, Director of Hockey at Millfield Prep

“I met The Queen and chatted with her after being invited to the Palace after representing Great Britain Hockey at the Sydney Olympic Games, in 2000. We waited in our teams for The Queen to come to us. When I got to meet her, I mentioned that my flat mate played national league hockey against her granddaughter Zara Phillips, and I’d tell her to take it easy on her. She replied “You don’t need to do that, I’m sure Zara can take care of herself!” 

Mark Garaway, Director of Cricket at Millfield

“I was lucky to meet The Queen on a number of occasions during my time with both the England Cricket team at Lords or other events and also on her visit to Dublin in 2011 when I was leading Cricket Ireland. On each occasion, I was overcome with pride. Not pride for myself in experiencing such moments but pride in her, our Sovereign, for all that she has done for our country, for the Commonwealth and beyond. The Queen's sense of duty and warmth shone though, every time.  

Much has been made of the Queen's smile throughout her life and in particular in the past few hours. Her smile was so warm yet the most striking memory I have is that of her eyes during our brief conversations. Her eyes shone bright for every person that she met at each event as she moved down the line or between groups. The eyes rarely belie our inner thoughts so to be that authentic, so frequently, for so long is an incredible thing. A role model in kindness to us all in that respect. 

To have been in front of those bright eyes and have a few brief words with our incredible Queen and to have sung the National Anthem alongside my England colleagues in the middle of sporting venues across the world are two memories that I will cherish forever. “

Perry Reeves, Head of Food Studies at Millfield

“When I was a chef and working for the event catering company Chester Boyd, I cooked for The Queen at an event at the Guild Hall in London. This would have been early 2000. A real highlight for me, cooking under that pressure for our Head of State.

I also remember cooking for her at Mansion House in the City. I didn’t get to speak to her, but her lady in waiting did speak to us to thank the team for the meal. I can remember it being a lobster mousse starter, with a main dish of lamb fillet and cheesecake garnished with gold leaf.”

Thierry Viatge, Chartwells Manager

“I had the pleasure of looking after The Queen and Prince Philip at the pre-opening gala evening at the Chelsea Flower show in 2017. At the time I worked for Eton College and they sent some of their managers to assist with the event, which included me.”

Gayle Bicknell, teacher of Art and Photography at Millfield

“When Windsor castle was damaged by fire, some of the refurbishment included a heraldic design I developed for John Lewis - I believe it was used in the staff quarters and there was even a publicity shot of the Queen holding the fabric! My Grandmother ate out on that story for years! I was of course very proud, almost like I was helping to create a little piece of history.”

Kait Weston, Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Millfield

“Dad was Medical Director at Musgrove and was in charge of a project to build a new section of the hospital, which was named The Queen's Building in her honour. He met with her and Prince Philip when it was officially opened and after that he, and his family (over 18s... I was 19, my sister was 17 - ha!) were invited to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. The sun shone, the gardens were beautiful. Prince Philip was very friendly, and I got to stroke the Corgis.”