Royal garden party honour for dedicated Violet McLellan BEM
An assistant day services manager from Newtown was one of the guests at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace during the jubilee.
Violet McLellan, who was awarded a Medal of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours for her work with adults with learning difficulties, has worked at Powys County Council’s Castell-Y-Dail centre in Newtown for 17 years.
Ms McLellan, who has more than 32 years of public service under her belt, said: “It was a wonderful event. We saw Kate and William, met some lovely people from all walks of life, and enjoyed the band playing in the grounds. It was a very relaxed and fun day.”
She was accompanied to the event by her son, Joe.
There she joined invited guests from charities, the military, and community representatives from across the UK at the event, which was attended by Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Because of the pandemic, it is the first time in three years members of the public have been invited to the Queen's home for the garden parties.
It was a last-minute dash to the palace for Violet and Joe who didn’t know if they would be able to attend until very near the date.
She said: “Joe didn’t get his suit till the day before, but it was all worth it!
"It was a very exciting time to be in London as well as with lots of activity in and around the palace for the jubilee.”
