Buckingham Palace has been the location of hundreds of historic moments and events for the royal family through the years, but the latest is a surprise proposal. A naval engineer, who was awarded an MBE for his services to the military on Tuesday, decided the Queen's London residence was the perfect place to pop the question.
© Photo: PAMatthew and Adele got engaged at Buckingham Palace
Matthew Gallimore, an air engineering technician in the Royal Navy, surprised his partner Adele Thomasson in the palace's quadrangle, after he was awarded with his honour at the investiture ceremony. He told the Press Association that while the royal household wouldn't permit him to propose inside the palace, they agreed he could get down on one knee within the grounds.
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© Photo: PAMatthew pops the question to Adele
Matthew said: "They said, 'at the end of the day it's the Queen's house, so the last thing you want to do is annoy the Queen'. And that's the last thing I want!" He added: "I kept it all quite private really, I asked her dad's permission. There's only about half a dozen people who knew, Adele didn't have a clue. She was chuffed, she didn't have a clue. She was very, very surprised."
The couple celebrated their special news with drinks at The Ritz Hotel in London, followed by dinner at The Ivy.
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© Photo: PAMatthew received his MBE from the Duke of Cambridge
Matthew also revealed to PA that he was particularly pleased that the Duke of Cambridge was the royal who presented him with the honours. He said: "I said to my parents beforehand if it wasn't the Queen doing it, I would have liked it to have been him. I know all of the royal family have done military time, but I've got a lot of time for William and Harry. Once I knew it was him I was a bit more relaxed to be honest. If it had been the Queen I'd have been panicking."
That’s a day the happy couple – and the royal household – are unlikely to forget!
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