An encounter with the queen: Bumping into Her Majesty (literally)

Here's a story we shared a while back.

FATE, or perhaps a stroke of luck, gave a young man the opportunity to serve the Queen of England in 1954.

It was the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Hotel Gollan in Lismore on the NSW north coast, and Southern Highlands resident Steven Malmberg remembers it clearly.

Only a month after Mr Malmberg and his wife Florence had left Sydney for a job at Hotel Gollan in Lismore, the Queen came to stay at the establishment.

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Mr Malmberg wasn't told what his role would be in Her Majesty's visit until late that afternoon when his boss, Mr Tengstrom, told him the Queen's page had the night off and he would be serving dinner to the Queen and her party instead.

With heavy rain that was the prelude to floods that would devastate the town only a week later and the deafening sounds of bag pipes down stairs, Mr Malmberg stood in the private dining room with his back to the door after ensuring it was fit for a queen.

Mr Malmberg said he heard someone singing to the tune of the bag pipes and when he turned around he saw the Queen dance backwards into the room.

"She didn't see me and I didn't see her and there was only inches between us," he said.

"With a smile from ear to ear she said 'oh excuse me, I am so sorry'.

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"I took a step backwards, bowed as deep as possible under the circumstance and said 'good evening Your Majesty' and both of us went back to our duties."

Of the dinner itself, Mr Malmberg remembers the dessert best.

All members of the party ordered ice cream gothic that had been made into a miniature of the ship, Gothic, that the royal couple travelled in.

The ship was nearly two feet long with six slices of ice cream around it on the silver platter.

"When I came to the Duke he said 'I think I would like a slice out of the bow please'," Mr Malmberg said.

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"In that instant, the Queen slapped her little hand on the table and said firmly 'no you do not Philip, the ship must be intact for other people to see'."

Mr Malmberg served the royal party fruit, coffee and liqueur before the royal couple stepped out on the hotel balcony to wave to the cheering crowd.

"I was busy clearing up the table when the Queen's maid, Miss McDonald, came in and handed me a bunch of red roses and said 'I have a message from Her Majesty, she asked me to thank you and to take these roses home to your wife as we have held you back so late tonight'," he said.

"Many people over the years have given flowers to the Queen, but very few have received flowers from the Queen like my dear Florence did."

Do you have an encounter with the late queen or a story you would like to share? Please email Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au or Jackie.Meyers@austcommunitymedia.com.au

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