Jean Barrett will be celebrating her birthday in regal style this year at Buckingham Palace with the Queen.

The 79-year-old, from Fringford, near Bicester, shares her birth date with the monarch April 21, 1926 and has been picked from thousands of hopefuls to attend the Queen's 80th birthday lunch on Wednesday.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be going to the palace," Mrs Barrett said.

"I saw an advert in my parish magazine asking for people who shared her birthday to put their names forward and thought, 'Oh, I suppose I'd better' but I never dreamed I'd hear back.

"There were five of us here in Oxfordshire, but only one place, so all our names were put in the hat. I was so excited when mine was picked."

She added: "I will be going to the palace with my son Michael and will be one of 190 people at the party.

"If I'm lucky enough to talk to the Queen, I will wish her a happy birthday and thank her very much for the invitation."

Although Mrs Barrett was born in very different circumstances to Queen Elizabeth, in the Cheshire countryside, she was always aware of the birthday coincidence.

"My mother told me from a very young age that I was born on the same day as the Queen and people even called me 'Princess Elizabeth's twin', she said.

"We have also had many similar experiences in our lives. The Queen was in the ATS, I was in the WAAF. I was married in 1946 and she was married in 1947 and we both had a son in our first year of marriage although mine wasn't called Charles.

"So being invited to her 80th birthday party is very special for me."

Mrs Barrett will also play a key role in Oxford's Queen's birthday celebrations when she gives one of the readings at a special service in Christ Church Cathedral on Friday, April 21.

"I'm very apprehensive about it," she said. "Although I have been given a seat in the chancel and will therefore be able to pop across to the lectern without making my way through the whole congregation."

The hour-long service, starting at 6pm, will also be attended by chairman of the county council, Lesley Legge, and the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Hugo Brunner. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Church bells will also be rung around the county to mark the occasion.

The Queen celebrates her real birthday on April 21, but also celebrates an 'official' birthday on either the first, second or third Saturday in June. This year's is on June 17.

The tradition of an official birthday was begun as monarchs who had their birthdays in the winter often encountered problems due to bad weather spoiling outdoor celebrations.

The Queen normally celebrates her actual birthday at Windsor Castle with friends and family, while her official one is marked by the Trooping of the Colour and a fly-past over Buckingham Palace. See www.royal.gov.uk