On the penultimate day of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum anniversary, TV 2 visits Springview’s nursing home in London. The party is in full swing, with singing, jenka and sherry.
The nursing home also has its own queen, Gladys Gathergood, who turned 109 on the same day as the queen turned 96.
Got a princess as a birthday present
Even though it is 96 years since Queen Elizabeth was born, the memories of that day are still clear.
– Gladys Gathergood (109) at Springview Nursing Home in London was born on the same day as Queen Elizabeth, just 14 years earlier. Photo: Marte Christensen / TV 2
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– I remember it well. I was at school. I was 13 years old and it was a regular working class school. The principal called us and said: “Girls and boys, I have fantastic news! It’s Gladys’ birthday today, and guess what she got as a gift? ” The kids said “No, what?”
Gladys goes on to say:
– «She’s got a princess! The queen has safely given birth to a princess as a birthday present for Gladys. “
She says it took some time before she understood what had happened.
– I did not know what it meant. I did not know what sex was, I had never seen a man in my life! Ler Gladys.
– Gladys is almost completely blind. But old arts are in my hands: – I feel forward, she says and plays the birthday song for us. Photo: Marte Christensen / TV 2
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Since then, she and the queen have shared a birthday, and since Gladys turned 100, the queen has sent her birthday cards.
A bright spot after the war
What the rest of us have only seen in documentaries or in the Netflix series “The Crown”, Gladys has seen with her own eyes.
– When I was a little younger than 109 years old, I used to go to all the occasions. I took a chair with me and sat outside all night. I was at the wedding, at the coronation, everything, says Gladys proudly.
– THE CROWNING: Queen Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey during the coronation on June 2, 1953. Photo: INTERCONTINENTALE / AFP
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Her friend Hazel J. McEntee (89) also attended both the Queen’s wedding and the coronation. For her, it is the wedding that remains as the very best memory from the queen’s life.
– It was very nice, because we had just been through the war. Suddenly the princess married a couple of years later. It was beautiful, says Hazel.
She thinks it was exciting to receive visits from so many different countries.
– She had many guests from abroad at the wedding. The king was still alive, so all these countries were still with us, and they were at the wedding. Kings and queens from all sorts of countries. The coronation was nice, but it was firmer, more strict, says the 89-year-old.
– NEWLYWED: Queen Elisabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh after the wedding ceremony on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. Photo: PA
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And while we’re in for a wedding, Gladys offers a little secret from the time she met her own husband. Hear the story in the video at the top of the case.
– Rock solid
Hazel is impressed with how Queen Elizabeth has stood firm through both scandals and tragedies.
– Before the war, after the war, when she lost her father so tragically, she has done a fantastic job. She is a natural talent. She is calm and has accepted unrest in the family. All families have disagreements.
Gladys agrees.
– She has bones in her nose. She was indoctrinated with morals and is rock solid, says the 109-year-old.
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