AN ardent monarchist saw one of her dreams come true when she was presented to the Queen Mother at St James' Palace, in London.

Anita Atkinson, who has more than 1,700 royal souvenirs, was among ladies from the Queen Mary's Clothing Guild who had the opportunity to chat with Britain's favourite great-grandmother last week.

Anita, a magistrate and school governor from Harperley, near Crook, County Durham, had seen the Queen Mother before, but had never met her personally.

She said: "I'm still floating on air. She came in with her corgis and her private secretary. We had a lovely little chat about the Bowes Museum near Barnard Castle and she knew the new trustees had taken over.

"She was lovely. Just going into St James' Palace was a fantastic experience."

Anita was contacted by Virginia Trotter, president of the North-East branch of the Queen Mary's Clothing Guild, after her royal interests were revealed in The Northern Echo.

Virginia invited her to travel with a handful of members from the guild, who deliver knitted garments to the Queen Mother every year.

Anita has recently spent a weekend cataloguing and counting her royal souvenirs in a bid to be included in the Guinness Book of Records