Lookalikes give Bognor's 'Regis' celebrations a right royal feel

King George V and Queen Mary lookalikes attended the event to the delight of the 70 participants who enjoyed the sandwiches and cakes.

Among them was Cecily Williams, 79, who was a guest of Bognor Regis and Aldwick councils as a resident born in 1929.

She said: "I met Queen Mary when I was in London in 1949 working as a nanny. I went to Westminster Abbey for the day and she walked past me. She was a very stately person and very erect."

Cecily, of Marshall Avenue in Bognor, said: "This afternoon tea is a good idea. It's a chance to meet other people of the same age."

She was born in Slindon on December 20, 1929, a few months after the Queen had joined King George for 13 weeks at Craigweil House in Aldwick.

The monarch had been ordered to recuperate following serious lung problems.

The royal couple returned to Windsor on May 15. Bognor's councillors quickly wrote to him to ask if he would agree to confer the royal seal of approval on the town.

His Majesty agreed on June 1 Bognor could become Bognor Regis and, on July 26, West Sussex County Council gave its formal approval to the name change.

Exactly 80 years later the King and Queen were at the Royal Norfolk Hotel tea in the shapes of Bognor resident John Hawkins and Carol Wiseman, Aldwick Parish Council's chairman.

They arrived in a chaffeur-driven 80-year-old Rolls Royce. Their entrance into the hotel's main function room was met with cheers and applause from the 70 guests.

Musicians Roger Clayden (cello) and Nina Levtov (keyboard) broke into their classical repertoire to play God Save The King as the couple appeared and posed for photographs.

Mr Hawkins, 70, said: "We thought we ought to give our people the chance to see us. It's certainly worth celebrating the fact it has been 80 years since Bognor became Bognor Regis."

He portrayed the monarch once before at the carnival to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the suffix's arrival.

Mrs Wiseman, 67, said: "I feel very honoured to be here. I am delighted to have been asked to be Queen Mary. The only trouble is I don't want to give the hat back tomorrow."

Also among the 20 guests of the councils was Bognor resident Patricia Bacon, who was born on March 13, 1929, in Greenwich, London.

She said: "It's a wonderful idea to have this tea party. I've been looking forward to it.

"A lot of people don't know how the town got its Regis name. This is an interesting way to find out and a good way to celebrate it."

The other guests paid to take part in the celebration.

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