Queen's god-daughter recalls picnics at Balmoral among favourite memories

The Queen's god-daughter has shared some of her favourite memories of spending time with the Queen, ahead of the monarch's funeral on Monday.

Victoria Pryor spent every summer at Balmoral when she was growing up.

She told ITV News Anglia: "Those are always my favourite memories of our time together, the time we spent in Balmoral in Scotland.

"It is comforting to me to know that she died in one of her favourite places because she truly loved it there.

"She loved the countryside, the wildlife and animals - she had such love for her dogs and her horses.

"Scotland was her at her happiest and most relaxed so it's very poignant that her last moments were there," said Ms Pryor, who owns Picnic Fayre deli in Cley in north Norfolk.

Her mother, Margaret Rhodes, was the Queen's cousin and best friend and later lived in Windsor Great Park as one of the Queen's ladies in waiting.

"Mummy and the Queen were incredibly close," Ms Pryor said.

"They spent so much time together when they were children and Mummy lived at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle with the princesses for a time when they were young.

"They remained the best of friends as they grew up.

"After Mummy got married and had children, we'd all head up to Scotland and spend long summers at Balmoral.

"We'd have these wonderful picnics together and spend so much time outdoors.

"When I heard the news that she'd passed, and saw all the televised images from Balmoral, I felt weirdly homesick for the place. Like I just wanted to pack up and be there again.

"It was a truly special time in my life and I have such special memories."

Years later, the Queen attended Ms Pryor's own wedding in London.

She said: "What always amazed me about the Queen was that she always remembered people.

"If I met her without Mummy, she'd know immediately who I was and remember all the children's names. She was like that with everyone.

"I always found that so touching, because she met so many people in her life and had such a large family herself.

"And after I got married and started living my own quiet life, I didn't mix in those circles as much any more, but she never forgot about you. That was something quite special about her."

Despite the closeness of the families, Ms Pryor said that the Queen's sense of duty was always with her, even at her most relaxed.

"You never forgot who she was," she said. "No matter where you were, or who you were with.

"You could be sat next to her chatting away on the sofa but you were always still very, very aware that she was the Queen."

At the time of the Queen's coronation in 1953, Mrs Rhodes was heavily pregnant with her daughter, making her unable to be one of the Maids of Honour at the ceremony.

Ms Pryor said: "It's incredible to think that I was at the Queen's Coronation but inside my Mummy's tummy!

"I think this relates to why her passing is having such a great effect on people, because she has been there for so long.

"For me and for lots of people, she has been there as this constant, strong figurehead for our whole lives.

"It makes us reflect on what she gave to the country, but also reflect on the people we've lost throughout our own lives. It really does feel to a lot of people like we have lost one's own mother, or one's own granny and reminds us of those times we have lost someone special.

"But we need to celebrate her life too and embrace the new and look to the future.

"I think King Charles III will be an absolutely fantastic king. He's always been so ahead of his time and such a greatly interested man.

"He's already done great work with the Prince's Trust and he's always had such a strong sense of duty - like his mother. And so, I think his reign will be different - and of course it has to be - but that he will be as equally dedicated to his role."

Ms Pryor will be attending the Queen's funeral on Monday in Westminster Abbey.

Millions of others are expected to be gathering in the capital to pay their respects to the Queen.

She said: "It's a lovely thing to be able to do. We've got to get to the abbey really early because the security will be very intense and it will take even family members a long time to get inside.

"I think the Queen would have known exactly how the funeral would go and I think she would have been incredibly honoured by everyone's tributes and the thousands and thousands of people that want to go and pay their respects.

"It really is extraordinary that people will spend all that time queuing up to go and see her. "It's a wonderful tribute and really shows what she meant to so many people."

"And I think she would have been very proud of all of her family. They have all been remarkable in such difficult personal circumstances."