The Princess of Wales has helped pick up a 94-year-old rural minibus user as she celebrated the 50th anniversary of the service.
Kate travelled to the village of Pulborough to mark the milestone occasion for the West Sussex Minibus, whose team of volunteers transport the elderly across the area in a fleet of vehicles.
Stella Drewett, 94, said before the princess arrived that she was not fazed by anything, and joked: “When they said: ‘It will be a celebrity,’ I said: ‘I don’t know any celebrities.’”
Kate had been picked up by the minibus in the village and arrived at the home of Mrs Drewett, a retired school cook.
Mrs Drewett is a new user of the service and said she travels on the minibus for her weekly shopping trip and a lunch held every Wednesday at the Pulborough village hall.
Kate was very hands-on, walking to the elderly woman’s front door and saying: “Good morning”, and later put a reassuring hand on her arm as Mrs Drewett manoeuvred her walking frame along the garden path and told her: “Well done.”
She stood behind Mrs Drewett as she climbed on board the minibus, and put her hands up against her back as a precaution.
When Kate asked about her trips out for lunch, the 94-year-old quipped that they meant “one day of not cooking”.
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