Warwick Lions president 'astonished' to be invited to garden party at Buckingham Palace

The president of the Warwick Lions Club said he was 'astonished' to be invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Last week, Warwick Lions President Peter Amis and his wife Penny attended the event, where they met Her Royal Highness Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO, who is a patron of the Lions in the UK and is a member of the Wokingham Lions Club.

Speaking about the event, Peter said: “I was astonished when out of the blue I received an invitation from the King for myself and my wife Penny to attend the garden party at Buckingham Palace.

"My first thought was ‘why me?’. I guessed that it must be in recognition of the time I have spent as a volunteer in the Warwick area – and importantly over 30 years as a member of the Warwick Lions.

"For the last two years I’ve been president of Warwick Lions, so it seemed natural to wear my chain of office to the garden party, and the icing on the cake was to meet Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

"The Duchess is patron of Lions for the UK and she greeted me with the comment that it was so nice to meet a fellow Lion.

"She was clearly well informed about the work the Lions do in the UK and worldwide and chatted about how we raise funds to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

"It was altogether a special and enjoyable experience.”