A FORMER Amesbury mayor has been recalling his meeting with the Queen during her diamond jubilee visit to Salisbury and the "lifetime of very fond memories" from the day. 

Andy Rhind-Tutt joined other mayors in the area to welcome Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh during their royal jubilee visit to the Cathedral Close on May 1, 2012.

He said: “I was humbled to represent the community of Amesbury on the Diamond Jubilee visit to Salisbury on May 1, 2012 and extremely privileged to meet Her Majesty the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.

“The day left me a lifetime of very fond memories of the meetings and conversations we shared.”

The Queen and Prince Philip met with the mayors of the area. 

After lunch the Queen visited the Amesbury community marquee where she was introduced to Andy who had been told he only had two minutes of chatting with her but admits the meeting “considerably ran over”.

She first met local blacksmith Andy Rawlings who had made the mid-winter solstice lantern then looked at  the display posters of the year of Amesbury 2012 events and also asked about the Mesolithic flint display that had come from the newly discovered Blick Mead.

“Her Majesty was so interested in this new discovery of life more than 3000 years before Stonehenge," recalls Andy. 

“As we proceeded clockwise around the tent, Her Majesty arrived at Amesbury’s Royal history we had prepared and was delighted to read that her 20 times great grandmother Queen Eleanor of Provence who was Henry IIIs Queen and who reigned during the consecration of Salisbury Cathedral had retired to take the veil and become a nun at Amesbury Priory in 1285 and was laid to rest there by Edward I in 1291.”

After meeting Wiltshire council representatives the Queen turned her attention to the medieval Sanctus bell which came from St Mary and St Melor Church. 

“Needless to say my two scheduled minutes had now become almost nine and security were noticeably relieved when Her Majesty eventually left the tent,” said Andy, who served as mayor from 2011-2012.

“Throughout the whole occasion Her Majesty was fully engaged, asking many questions and sharing humorous responses with everyone, it was an absolute pleasure and will be a lifetime achievement I will never forget.”