THAMES Valley Police's former chief constable Sir Francis Habgood has spoken about his experiences of meeting members of the Royal Family.

He said: "As Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, it was my great privilege to attend a number of events and ceremonies which have had a royal connection.

"I was fortunate enough to get my Queens Police Medal presented to me by Her Majesty The Queen in 2012 at Windsor Castle which was a real honour.

"To be presented with the medal by The Queen herself and at Windsor Castle, which is one of the most iconic locations in the Thames Valley and the UK, was something I’ll never forget.

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"We had the Olympics Games that same year, with a number of events taking place in the Thames Valley including the torch relay as well as water events at Dorney Lake.

"The Queen attended these, and spent time chatting to everybody there.

"This was an occasion when the eyes of the world were on the Thames Valley, and I am especially proud of this policing operation that enabled people from across the world to safely enjoy this international sporting spectacle.

"One of the privileges about being the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police is attending Royal events such as state visits.

"When I attended the state visit of the president of the United Arabic Emirates to the UK in 2013 there was a guard of honour and I remember the rather unusual aspect was that The Queen was tasked with introducing everyone on the guard of honour.

"She remembered every single person and what they did perfectly.

"As a Chief Officer I also got invited to represent the force in the Royal Box at an emergency services day at Newbury Races.

"The Queen is so knowledgeable about racing, but the Duke of Edinburgh doesn’t like it as much, so he was in the room next door watching cricket, my favourite sport!"

He said one of his highlights was policing the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

He explained: "The build-up and seeing the enthusiasm of everybody involved with it, being involved with lining the route, was a great privilege for me and is something that I’ll always remember and look back on with fond memories.

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"I also visited the King George VI Day Centre in Windsor for its 60th anniversary celebrations, which The Queen attended.

"She was also there for the opening, the 25th anniversary and the 50th anniversary, which is quite special.

"She took the time to speak to everybody there and I told her that we were quite busy at the time with her grandson’s wedding.

"She told me that she had just travelled up the Long Walk and had seen some of the safety and security measures which were being prepared.

"I thought that showed just how much attention to detail she was paying to the preparation for the wedding.

"Whenever I have met her she has always been genuinely interested in policing and the work that we do.

"I have also had the pleasure of meeting Prince Charles at the opening of an Islamic Study Centre in Oxford and Prince William at a briefing about the mental health within policing.

"They were very relaxed, chatty, and most importantly very supportive and complementary of policing and the job my officers and staff do to keep people safe.

"Most people only see the very formal side of the Royals but they have all always been very approachable and full of conversation when I have met them.

"As police officers, we are Crown Servants and are accountable to serving the Queen, keep the peace, uphold the law and protecting her people. "This is the very essence of UK policing.

"The fact that the Royal Family has residences in the Thames Valley Police area means that we have a lot of connections and a lot of contact with them, in comparison with other forces across the country.

"It’s important to recognise how privileged we are to have these opportunities to meet the Royal Family and to police royal events. My thoughts are very much with the royal family at this extremely difficult time."