MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands girl presented to Queen
Twelve-year-old Falkland Islands schoolgirl, Emily Hancox, has enjoyed one of the proudest days of her life, when she was presented to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles in London at the multi-cultural Commonwealth Day Observance at Westminster Abbey.
She was one of only five children to be presented to the Queen, who said to her: "Pleased to meet you, Emily".
It is Emily's ability as an artist which won her a privileged place at the Commonwealth event.
Emily won a Commonwealth Poster competition at her school in Stanley, judged by the Governor, Donald Lamont, and her poster was selected for inclusion in a Commonwealth flyer called "Celebrating Diversity".
Emily and her father Bob Hancox travelled the 8,000 miles to London with funding from the Falkland Islands Government in recognition of her achievement.
Emily said she was delighted to meet the Queen and expressed her appreciation to be able to make her personal contribution to such an important and successful event. A bonus on her visit is that she had a reunion with both sets of grandparents who live near each other in Stourbridge, in England.
The Hancox family settled in the Falklands in 1990 in response to a job advertisement for an engineer. Emily's mother, Rachel, stayed in Stanley to look after Emily's two sisters, Katy (15) and Alice (1).
Mrs Hancox said: "We're really proud of what Emily has achieved. We love our life in the Falklands. We have our own home, loads of pets, good jobs and we live in a great community. Emily loves the Falklands and won't hear a word said against the place. She even loves mutton chops!
Emily is a keen horse rider and an achiever in this hobby too, twice winning Junior Champion Jockey in the Islands.
The Westminster Abbey ceremony brought together peoples of the 54-nation Commonwealth with the theme of Celebrating Diversity and promoting peace exactly six months after the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States.
Harold Briley, London
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