Queen Elizabeth II: Bishop recalls weekend at Sandringham
- Published
The Right Reverend Julian Henderson hosted the visit of the Queen to Blackburn Cathedral in 2014
Spending a weekend with the Queen at Sandringham was "an extraordinary privilege", the former Bishop of Blackburn has said.
The Right Reverend Julian Henderson said he was invited with other diocesan bishops for "an ordinary weekend" with the monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh.
He said he was treated as "a member of the household and not as a visitor".
It was "a remarkable privilege to share in a personal way with the Queen and her family," Bishop Henderson said.
The Queen handed out Maundy coins in a traditional royal service at Blackburn Cathedral in 2014
They shared meals, conversations and walks in "that extraordinary family home", he told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"She had a remarkable way of putting everybody at their ease," he said.
The Right Reverend Julian Henderson spent a weekend at Sandringham
"Often there wasn't a word, but there was just a smile of acknowledgement of, 'Oh that's all right, don't let it worry you'.
"She met so many people, thousands and thousands, and yet somehow or other, each one felt personal and that was an extraordinary gift that she had in carrying out her wonderful role."
The recently-retired Bishop Henderson met the Queen three times
The recently-retired Bishop Henderson also met the Queen at Buckingham Palace when he became Bishop of Blackburn.
And in 2014, he hosted a visit to the cathedral, where the Queen handed out Maundy coins in a traditional royal service.
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