Coronation Street actor William Roache 'fell in love' with the Queen when he met her
Actor William Roache reflects on the many times he met the Queen.
Coronation Street's William Roache "fell in love" with Her Majesty the Queen the moment he met her.
The actor, best known for playing Ken Barlow in Britain's longest running soap, had the pleasure of meeting Queen Elizabeth II on several occasions.
In a tribute to Her Majesty, William described the first time he met her when he was based in Jamaica as a young officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
The Queen and Prince Philip were undertaking the longest Commonwealth Tour, visiting the West Indies, Australasia, Asia and Africa and lasted from November 1953 to May 1954.
"She was so beautiful", William explains. "I fell in love with her as a person and as an individual.
"I don't know whether that was heresy or something, but she is just a very comforting person to be with."
The Queen visited the set of Coronation Street twice during her reign - once at its original studios in Manchester in 1982 and again in 2021 after the soap moved to Media City.
But William says despite the 40-year gap in her visits to the cobbles of Weatherfield, she never changed.
"Her eyes were beautiful blue and very alert", he said, "and she didn't wear glasses - but there was no difference.
"On the seven times that I met her, it's always been the protocols and the rehearsals that have been the problem.
"Actually meeting her has always been very easy and very delightful, very comforting and usually full of humour."
William Roache, 90, was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2001 and received an OBE in her New Year Honours list in December 2021.
A period of royal mourning will be observed from now, 9 September, until seven days after the Queen’s funeral, the date of which will be confirmed in due course, Buckingham Palace said.
The period of official public mourning is expected to be 11 days, beginning after Her Majesty's death on Thursday.