Lisburn couple receive royal surprise on 65th wedding anniversary six days after death of Queen

A Lisburn couple got an unexpected pleasant surprise when they received a card from Queen Elizabeth II earlier this week, congratulating them on their 65th wedding anniversary.

Signed by Elizabeth R and addressed to Mr and Mrs Sidney Phillips, it arrived six days after her death.

Sidney, 84, and his wife Rita, 83, are originally from Royal Berkshire but have been living in Lisburn for the past 15 years.

Rita said: “It was a huge surprise considering what has just happened. It was a shock, I don’t know what the postman must have thought.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all, my daughter arranged it some time ago, and there we are – it arrived on the day of our 65th anniversary.

“I’ve a lot of affection for the Queen. I’m a real royalist, that’s what I am.”

Their daughter Janet said: “I was shocked as well. I thought with what had happened that maybe the card would be delayed or maybe it wouldn’t arrive at all.”

Rita, a mum of two and grandmother of six, said they would be framing it alongside another one from the Queen on their 60th anniversary.

Asked for the secret to 65 years of married bliss, Rita said: “Give and take – he would say he would give and I would take. Being serious, I love him to pieces.

“It still feels like yesterday, we hold hands sitting watching television together.”