EVEREST conqueror Chris Brown is savouring golden memories of a royal occasion marking the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest.

The event, at the Odeon, in London's Leicester Square was attended by the Queen and an audience who all had links with Everest.

The evening of newsreels was arranged to coincide with the Queen's 50th anniversary of her Coronation, which also coincided with the British-led expedition's conquest of the mountain.

The North Yorkshire farmer and Harrogate Borough councillor from Baldersby, between Ripon and Thirsk, said: "It was a tremendous occasion and brought back all the memories of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's triumph at the time of the Coronation."

Councillor Brown was awarded the freedom of Harrogate after climbing Everest at his third attempt on May 13, 1999. He now lectures on his Everest exploits and has raised more than £130,000 for Harrogate-based Claro Enterprises Workshops of which he is chairman. He set up the project to provide work for the mentally ill at its Starbeck headquarters and was awarded the MBE for his charity work.