A Dundee woman says she will forever treasure memories of meeting the Queen as a toddler.
Aishah Majid Bhatti was only two when Queen Elizabeth II visited her home city as part of her Golden Jubilee tour in 2002.
Aishah and her family were among millions in mourning when the Queen’s death was announced on Thursday evening.
It sparked memories of when the Queen spotted young Aishah in a line of people desperate to meet the head of the monarch.
The Bhatti family said they were “astounded” when the Queen broke the line to compliment a two-year-old Aishah’s Indian turban.
Her father, Mohammed joked she wanted to catch Her Majesty’s eye as the pair recalled the day at Dundee Railway Station.
Queen told Dundee tot ‘I hope they are real diamonds’
Mohammed said: “We had wanted to go down to the train station to welcome Her Majesty.
“Moments before her arrival we were put in the line alongside a few others.
“We were both a bit starstruck when the Queen broke the line and complimented Aishah’s headdress.
“Aishah had said she wanted to catch her eye, the turban had diamonds on it.
“The Queen said ‘I hope they are real diamonds’ – we were both a bit shocked but delighted she had spoken with us.”
Bad luck meant the Bhatti’s family camera let them down and despite dozens of photographers attending, they were left with no images of the exchange.
Determined to track some down, they had to go via The Courier classifieds to find copies of the special moment.
Aishah, now 22, said: “That moment at the station is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.
“Unfortunately there had been a few technical problems with the camera.
“Our family decided to put an advert in The Courier to see if we could get the other pictures.
“We managed to track down a photographer who captured the moment.
“At the time my dad said I’d offered up my own pocket money to pay for the pictures.”
‘Incredibly sad’
When the family heard of the Queen’s passing they dug out the album containing all the images of the day.
The former Grove Academy pupil added: “The Queen was a rock for this country and I was incredibly sad to hear of her passing.
“That moment with Her Majesty was very special for me and my family.
“We got the pictures out of the album and had a look through.
“It holds many great memories for us.”
Conversation