Platinum Jubilee: The Queen meets the cooking student who helped crown a chicken 70 years ago | UK news

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The Queen met a former culinary school student who helped create a coronation chicken – the dish indelibly linked to the start of her seven-decade reign.

On the eve of the 95-year-old queen, reaching her platinum jubilee milestone, I chatted with Angela Wood, the 19-year-old spending days cooking and perfecting the signature recipe.

Poulet Reine Elizabeth, or Chicken Queen Elizabeth, as it was originally known, was first served to 350 foreign dignitaries during her coronation banquet and has gone on to become a national authority and sandwich filler.

Photo: The Queen chats with Angela Wood, then 19-year-old who has spent days perfecting the signature recipe

Since the country was still living under food rationing after the war, the recipe had to be simple and inexpensive.

The two women spoke at a ballroom reception at Sandringham House where members of the local community gathered to celebrate the Queen’s 70th anniversary with a cake.

As explained, the ornate jubilee cake was laid upside down in front of her for the press cameras, the Queen eliciting a laugh when she said, “Oh they can see it. Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

The event was the largest in-person public participation the Queen has attended since the evening reception at Windsor Castle last October for delegates who attended the Government’s Global Investment Summit earlier that day.

A few days later, concerns were raised about the Queen’s health after she withdrew from a trip to Northern Ireland and spent a night in hospital. Doctors ordered her to rest and later advised her to do light tasks.

Her guests have included members of the local Women’s Institute (WI), the Sandringham chapter she supports as president, and retirees of the Sandringham Estate.

Photo: Chicken packets were served as a coronation to celebrate the occasion

Before the pandemic, the Queen would visit fellow WI at West Newton Village Hall every year as part of her winter stay at her home in Sandringham, Norfolk.

During the reception, the Queen also met with representatives of the West Norfolk Befriending Foundation, which aims to reduce the social isolation experienced by the elderly by matching them with trained volunteer friends who visit them regularly.

She spoke to members of Little Discoverers, which provides early education for preschoolers with movement difficulties and developmental delays.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be celebrated across the country during the extended bank holiday in June.

Photo: Members of the local community attended the jubilee party

But February 6, the date of the Queen’s accession to the throne, is a poignant period for the Queen, as it is the day her father, King George VI, died at Sandringham in 1952, ushering in her now-record-breaking reign.

It will also be the Queen’s first jubilee without Prince Philip, who died 10 months ago at the age of 99.

The Duke of Edinburgh also spent a large part of his retirement at the royal estate, living on Wood Farm, a farm in Wolverton nestled in the ultimate country retreat, enjoying the haven and privacy it offered.

In addition to being the longest-reigning monarch in the country, the Queen is also the longest-reigning monarch in the world.

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