Chichester family describe meeting 'radiant' Queen Elizabeth II at Chichester Festival Theatre

Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday afternoon, braved chilly winds to visit Chichester Festival Theatre in 2017 where she watched a performance by Chichester Festival Youth Theatre and songs from Fiddler on the Roof, before being entertained to lunch.

She was greeted by excited crowds, some of whom had been waiting since the early hours to see her.

One such family was the Roe-Dos-Santos’, from South Mundham, who managed to catch the monarchs attention as she arrived at the theatre.

Vicky Roe-Dos-Santos and her children 11-year-old Jonathan and 9-year-old Sophia waited patiently for Her Majesty to arrive and were lucky enough to be able to speak to the Queen.

Vicky said: “Oh my God, she was lovely. We asked her whether she enjoyed her trip and she said ‘it’s a lovely day for it’. We didn’t get to shake her hand but we did give her flowers.

“She walked past us and I actually yelled out ‘your Majesty’ and she actually turned back and walked back to us because she saw the kids there holding the flowers.

"So she walked back up. She looked radiant, she was very pretty.”

Jonathan, 11, said Queen Elizabeth was ‘really kind’ and said he thought King Charles was going to be a ‘really good’ King.

Jill Arbabamin, from Donnington, who is Godmother to the Jonathan and Sophie, said she remembers being at Chichester Festival Theatre from ‘very early in the morning’ and said the Queen was ‘lovely’.

Jill agreed with Godson Jonathan and said: We think [King Charles III] is going to be a very good King, excellent.

Vicky added: “After the Queen came to Chichester they both wrote to her individually and she wrote back to them both, well, the lady in waiting wrote back and then they ended up writing Prince Charles, then Prince William, then Prince George so they actually have letters from the reigning monarch at the time and three in waiting which is quite something.

“They sent the kids letters and photographs which was lovely really.”

The royal-loving family are hoping to make a trip to London next week to pay their respects to the Queen.