Prince William Visits 109-Year-Old
(May 12) - A 109-year-old woman who had complained about the birthday cards she had received from Buckingham Palace got a surprise visit from Prince William. The prince, who is second in line to the throne, visited Catherine Masters on Friday at her nursing home in Oxfordshire, England, and offered an apology on behalf of his grandmother.
Like all British centenarians, Masters received a royal birthday card from Queen Elizabeth II when she turned 100, 105 and every year thereafter. But for the last five years, Masters said, the Buckingham Palace card has featured the same photo of the queen in a yellow dress. She wrote to the palace to complain.
The prince promised his 83-year-old grandmother would be wearing a new outfit on the next card."I told him I would like the queen to have a new dress. I think either a blue or white one would be nice," Masters said.
William, who turns 27 in June, and Masters chatted over tea about the prince's great-grandmother, the late Queen Mother Elizabeth, and cooking. "He told me he liked making shepherd's pie and said he used a masher to mash the potatoes, but I told him he was doing it wrong -- he should use a fork to fluff the potatoes," said Masters.
The visit was arranged by a local member of Parliament, who knew that Masters had always wanted to meet a member of the royal family....Wendy Mead, a senior nurse manager, said Masters was bowled over when the prince arrived. "It was a total shock, and Catherine was speechless. Prince William came in and she asked if he was real. She squeezed his hand to check."
Masters has now been invited to a garden party with the queen at Buckingham Palace on July 7.
"She’s off to buy a new dress and hat," Wendy Mead said.
