A butler from Liverpool who served The Queen has shared his special memories with her.
Tommy Walsh started work in farming before going back and forth between different jobs and even lived in Australia for periods of time. He returned to England and began this line of work at Grosvenor House, a five-star hotel in Mayfair London, at around 25-years-old.
The butler, who still works in the industry, said his work "progressed" and he "learnt more and more and more". Eventually Tommy was working for royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II.
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Tommy told the ECHO about the first time he met The Queen and said "he fell to pieces". Speaking to the ECHO, he said: "I was standing by the red curtain and up the stair case they come -The Queen, The Queen's Mother, Princess Diana - and it was all the white clothing and all this jewellery.
"I remember just making some gasping noise and someone pulling the curtain and telling me to shush. They said 'quiet or go home' and I have never forgotten that."
He added: "To see that for the first time was something and I had to go behind a curtain and was told to shut up. Then life changes and through the years I met The Queen and served The Queen [many times]."
Tommy said the last time he served the late monarch was in November 2019 where they had a "good laugh" serving her. The 74-year-old said he remembers how the small, intimate event was like "The Queen coming to my house" as the people there were "all friends" and Tommy knew them.
He said: "When it came to desert I had a copper skillet, 12 to 15 inches long and wide, with a Crème Brûlée with a hard, toffee crust on top and I held it and passed it to The Queen and she said 'how on earth is one getting to this, how do you do this?'
"So I said 'ma'am why don't you turn the spoon over and then come down and give it a good crack' and she tried and turned it over and we were all laughing because people later on said to me 'what were you laughing about with dessert?' So she did it and she said 'oh god I knew that was going to happen'."
"I remember doing it and I knew the 12 people in the house and I thought to myself it's like The Queen just coming to my house, sitting there on the sofa."
Tommy also said he had forgotten his glasses that night and struggled to poor the coffee due to the cup being lined gold inside, however The Queen stepped in to help. He told the ECHO: "I didn't even have my glasses with me because I got sent there so quickly.
"I was pouring the coffee and The Queen said to me 'all the way' and you have to be honest and I am not a shy guy - I am from Liverpool - so I said 'terribly sorry ma'am, I haven't got my glasses and I can't see the coffee in the cup.'
"You have to be honest, otherwise the coffee will go over the cup. So she said 'I will help you' and she put her hands to the side of the cup and she said 'up, up' and then moved her hand towards me and said 'stop'.
"Afterwards she said 'we will have to do that again when you come back unless you find your glasses'. I said to her and I said 'I don't have them with me'."
Tommy said it was a "privilege" to serve with Her Majesty and also has a photograph of them together which he said was "wonderful to have".
The nation is in mourning following the death of Her Majesty the Queen on Thursday, September 8. The palace confirmed the Queen died peacefully at Balmoral as her family and senior royals travelled over to be by her side.
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