Queen Elizabeth II: Couple's five wedding anniversary cards from monarch

A couple who received five anniversary cards from the Queen have remembered the "captivating" monarch.

John and Ivy Winn, from St Anne's Grove, Fareham, have been married for 72 years. They received messages from Queen Elizabeth II on their diamond, blue sapphire, platinum, 71st and 72nd anniversaries.

Ivy, 92, described the monarch as "fantastic [and] a very happy person".

Anniversary messages from the sovereign is a tradition that dates to 1917.

Cards are sent to those celebrating their 60th (diamond), 65th (blue sapphire), 70th (platinum) wedding anniversaries, and every year thereafter.

"I love royalty and my children know that," Mrs Winn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said: "On my last birthday, my granddaughter brought a little crown in and I've got it in front of the Queen on my clock."

Her husband John, 91, was in the Royal Marines Band from 1949 to 1953, and performed for the Queen.

"We played several functions in London and we did a march down The Mall," he said.

Mr Winn added: "She's wonderful, the radiant smile she had every day, it captivated everyone in England, Scotland, Wales or even the whole world."

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral on Thursday, congratulatory messages are not being sent at this time and applications are not currently being processed.

The Anniversaries Office said online or postal applications to the office would be processed when operations resume.

The state funeral of the Queen, who died at Balmoral on 8 September aged 96, will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11:00 BST on Monday.

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