Lord Lieutenant's hats to be auctioned for charity

Helen Nellis with Queen Elizabeth II in 2017, which was the monarch's final visit to Bedfordshire

A county's first female Lord Lieutenant is to sell her large collection of hats to raise money for charity.

Helen Nellis served the county of Bedfordshire from February 2012 to September 2022 and became known for her colourful headwear.

She said she wore hats to "stand out in a crowd" and to show "the wonderful people of Bedfordshire that I had made a special effort to recognise and celebrate their great contributions".

In total 30 of her hats will be auctioned or raffled to raise money for the MS Therapy Centre in Bedford, of which she is patron.

The charity supports more than 1,000 people living with multiple sclerosis across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Helen Nellis wore her favourite red hat several times

Mrs Nellis said she wore her favourite bright red hat when she first met the Queen "and which I used to wear for extra special occasions".

"It helped me to stand out in a crowd and I think the colour made me smile and made people feel jolly," she added.

"Captain Tom certainly loved it when I delivered his 100th birthday greetings."

Helen wore her favourite hat to wish Cpt Sir Tom Moore a happy 100th birthday

She said that she was not a hat wearer before she was appointed the first female Lord Lieutenant.

"As the first woman in 500 years to hold this role in Bedfordshire," she said, "I decided that wearing a fabulous hat would be a great way to show the wonderful people of Bedfordshire that I had made a special effort to recognise and celebrate their great contributions."

Mrs Nellis will auction off 30 hats for charity

She said she wore hats "sourced locally", as a mark of respect to the milliners that worked and used to work in Luton.

Helen Nellis said she wore a hat on the occasions that the Queen would wear a hat

"My mother lived with MS and I have deep admiration for the professional and compassionate care offered at the MS Centre," she said.

The fundraising event takes place on 7 July at the Swan Hotel, Bedford.

Liz Toogood, trustee of the MS Therapy Centre, said: “This is a completely unique event.

"We are thrilled and privileged to enjoy Helen’s generosity in supporting us in this way in our 40th anniversary year”.

Helen Nellis visited the Baps Swaminarayan Mandir Temple in Luton in 2015