'She put everyone at ease': What the Queen was really like from the people who have met her

In 70 long years of loyal service to the nation, the Queen touched the hearts of generations across Greater Manchester. While most admired her sense of duty from afar, some residents were lucky enough to meet her.

As part of her role, the Queen made trips up and down the country, including Greater Manchester on a number of occasions. She also thanked the efforts of hardworking members of the public for their inspirational work through awards and honours.

The Manchester Evening News spoke to residents, councillors and charity workers who had the chance to meet the nation's longest-reigning monarch. They shared the special memories and magic moments that tell the story of what it was really like to meet her.

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Chris Ogden, from Swinton, was 22 when he met the Queen at Buckingham Palace after the University of East Anglia won a Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2012. He says the Queen made him feel 'the most important person in the room', before ending her chat with a nod.

Chris, who now lives in Hulme, told the M.E.N. : "I remember her being friendly, attentive and curious, asking me questions about my studies and creative writing as a discipline. We only spoke for a minute or two, but she made me feel like the most important person in the room in that time which meant a lot as a 22-year-old student.

"I remember her asking specifically 'how does one teach creative writing?' and 'how does one learn it compared to a scientific discipline?'. She was very curious about how it worked. That's the main thing I got from it - she was very interested to know about what I was studying.

"She asked a lot of