A YORK woman who met the Queen when she visited the city in 1949 has looked back on one of her "fondest memories" - handing a bouquet of flowers to the monarch.

On July 28, 1949, a young Princess Elizabeth, before she took the throne in 1953, and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited York at the end of a triumphant Royal Tour of Yorkshire.

Jacqueline Reagan (nee Pritchard), 77, from Strensall, was a four-year-old girl at the time - and recalls presenting a bouquet to the Princess as she arrived at Jute Road.

Jacqueline lived in Dane Avenue at the time of the visit and attended Carr Infants school in Acomb. She and fellow pupil Derek Lacy had been chosen to present flowers to the princess.

Jacqueline said: "I remember holding my mum's hand and skipping down the street. I could hear everyone cheering and shouting all over the Carr estate. I wore a white dress with rosebuds on it. I remember it very clearly.

"It's one of my fondest memories. Not many people can say they have met the Queen - and I can."

Newspaper cuttings of the time show the children practising their curtsying and bowing - and waving to the royal couple.

Jacqueline has praised the Queen for her time ruling the country. She said: "Bless her, it's so, so sad. What a marvellous job she has done - she has been through so much.

"She has been a role model to so many people - fulfilling her promise after succeeding the throne at just 25 years of age."

It was a busy visit to York for the royals in 1949. They arrived at the Minster at 11.30am, where they were met by the Lord Lieutenant of York, the Earl of Scarborough, and were presented to the Lord Mayor, JB Morrell.

After inspecting a guard of honour and looking around the Minster, the princess and her husband went to St William’s College, then walked through Minster Gates and Stonegate to St Helen’s Square.

After meeting dignitaries at the Mansion House, the young princess was driven to Regent Street, off Lawrence Street, to visit some pre-fabricated houses.

The residents had been preparing to welcome the Royal couple for several days, reported the following day’s Yorkshire Herald. “Houses had been cleaned from top to bottom, just in case the Princess and her husband ‘dropped in’.” And, they did exactly that, visiting a Mr and Mrs Frank Henry Cox at number 15.

Over in Acomb, the royal couple were shown around the Radfords’ three-bedroomed home by Mr Radford, the Herald reported.

He later informed the newspaper that she “had shown great interest in the bathroom and detached washhouse” at their home.