The Queen met an Invictus Games medallist and a 100-year-old “Dambuster” on her first public engagement since returning from Balmoral.
The monarch visited the Haig Housing development near Morden, south London, on Friday to officially open the charity’s 70 new homes for veterans and their families.
On her visit she met veteran, Ken Souter, 100, who flew with the RAF in north Africa during the Second World War.
The Queen said she was “glad to see” the card had arrived, as she is “always worried” the post will not be delivered on time.
She also met Invictus Games silver medallist Dan Phillips, who called the day an “absolutely incredible experience”.
Mr Phillips, who uses a wheelchair after being injured in Afghanistan in 2012, previously met the Duke of Sussex during trials for the Invictus Games in 2017.
His son, Harry, then two, was caught on camera having a boxing match with the Duke, as his Dad fought to qualify for hand-cycling, indoor rowing, powerlifting and archery.
The Queen also chatted to a number of veterans who completed a 100-mile walk from Ypres to London – The Long Walk Home – last year, to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
She has been patron of Haig Housing since 1952 and was handed dozens of bunches of flowers and greeted by hundreds of local schoolchildren during her hour-long visit.
The Queen was even given a laugh when one child shouted “you’re the best Queen in the world” as she greeted the crowds.
Haig Housing is the country’s largest military housing charity, with more than 1,500 properties across the UK.
The site in Morden first opened almost 100 years ago, following the end of the First World War.
The charity offers the opportunity for the most seriously injured veterans to get onto the property ladder and become joint owners of homes that have been specially adapted to suit their needs.
