Mind your head, Ma'am! The Queen found herself in a spot of bother with her brolly at one of Oxfordshire's biggest-ever garden parties.

The large see-through umbrella kept her dry during a downpour but caused problems when she tried to walk under a tree. It snagged on a branch and for a few seconds the Queen's entourage was halted.

But she managed to manoeuvre herself underneath and continued her tour of Milton Hill House, near Abingdon, yesterday.

The Queen was visiting the country house to see 3,000 members of the Women's Royal Voluntary Service who were celebrating their diamond jubilee. Dressed in a Royal blue coat with a wide-brimmed white hat, the Queen spent an hour chatting to hundreds of guests, despite heavy rain.

She thanked volunteers who had served refreshments to mourners sleeping outside in London following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Pat Mills, 54, of Bradstocks Way, Sutton Courtenay, who helped remove flowers from around Buckingham Palace following Diana's funeral, said: "The rain briefly stopped just as the Queen arrived but even when it started again she looked radiant and happy to be here."

WRVS member Dorice Atkinson, 76, of Tatlings Road, Steventon, said: "One man told her that there were more than 1,000 men in the service these days and she just threw her head back and laughed. He must have mentioned being hen-pecked."Alice Cleland, a council member of the WRVS, said: "She particularly wanted to meet those who removed the mountains of flowers.

"Even at Royal garden parties, I don't think she meets this number of people.

"With so many thousands we had no special plans to cope with this appalling weather. People have come here from every corner of Britain and it has still been a wonderful birthday.

"Some of these ladies were involved in evacuating children in air-raids during the war, so a little rain would not worry them."

The Queen was welcomed by WRVS chairman Lady Toulson and the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Hugo Brunner. She was presented with flowers by the service's oldest member, Kathleen Halpin, aged 95. Later, the Queen cut a Diamond Jubilee birthday cake, baked by the Army, and planted a tree in the grounds.

Emma Jennings, 23, of Mill Brook Village, Didcot, a receptionist at the manor, said: "You could see how much it meant to some of the elderly ladies just by looking at their faces." It is the second time within a month that a WRVS celebration has been attended by a member of the Royal Family.

The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, met many of its members during a visit to Dalton Barracks, near Abingdon at the end of May.

The Queen's last official visit to the area was with the Duke of Edinburgh at the end of last year when she met pupils and staff at Radley College and villagers in Berinsfield.

Earlier yesterday, the Queen, as Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Royal Engineers, visited Denison Barracks in Hermitage, near Newbury.

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