A shared birthday fit for a Queen

On April 21, Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 90th birthday, as does a lady from Lancing on the same day.
Margaret Hall from Lancing will share her 90th birthday with the Queen.Margaret Hall from Lancing will share her 90th birthday with the Queen.
Margaret Hall from Lancing will share her 90th birthday with the Queen.

Margaret Hall, who settled into the town a few years ago, is having a very special celebration to mark her birthday, which she shares with the monarch.

The former nurse lives with her son Jim and daughter-in-law Patricia, who said a surprise party was planned for the day before.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I’ve asked the neighbours and people from the church and they’ll come over and we’ll have a buffet and some balloons up. I’ve bought a little crown, it’ll be a nice little surprise,” she said.

“I’ll say, ‘you’re going to be Queen for the day’.”

A state registered nurse by profession, Margaret said she had Scotch blood in her family, but nothing to do with Her Majesty Elizabeth II. She moved to Lancing from Portslade, where she lived with her second husband of 30 years.

Since coming to the area she has become a regular attendee of Lancing Methodist Church and in particular, the ‘Knit and Natter’ sessions.

Her other favourite past-times include watching mystery dramas such as ‘Sherlock’ along with ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Patricia said the soon-to-be nonagenarian still liked dressing nicely and looking her best.

When asked her favourite age during her wealth of experience, Margaret said she had enjoyed the three cruises she went on in her 50s, but that if she could be any age, it would be 75.

She was 19 when she married her first husband, Robert John Lee, who was in the Gloucester regiment. The couple had three children, Robert, Jean and her surviving son Jim. Her older and younger sisters, Joyce and Kit, live in Dorset and Littlehampton.

In the past nine decades, Margaret has lived through the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Cold War and the birth of the internet age.

Patricia said Margaret was well thought of in the town and that her friends were looking forward to celebrating the occasion. She said: “It’s Margaret’s day. it’s going to be all about her.”

Related topics: