“We heard that the queen was coming a month ago but knew that we would be meeting her in person a week after that. I immediately thought — oh, but I have class! But then class versus meeting the Queen of England? No prizes for guessing,” said Khairun, who is pursuing a Master of Science in Environment and Development.
And so it was that Khairun and her family — husband Maximilian Conrad, 32, four-year-old son Aidan and two-year-old daughter Aria — met with Queen Elizabeth, when the 90-year-old monarch paid a visit to Goodenough College in Central London, Thursday afternoon.
Khairun and her family have been living at Goodenough college for over a year now.
They came to London after her husband received a Chevening scholarship and as luck and lots of hard work would have it, Khairun was awarded the same scholarship this year.
Meeting the Queen also meant having to dress accordingly, something Khairun agonised over since receiving the invitation. “I’ve been thinking about what to wear since I got the invite. It’s also a bit tough when you’re dressing other people.”
With help from her friends, Khairun settled on wearing something traditionally Malaysian and dressed in a stunning red Baju Kebaya. She dressed her son in a purple Baju Melayu and her daughter in a Cheongsam.
Despite only having five minutes with the Queen, Khairun and her family made the most of it and enjoyed a brief conversation with the monarch.
“We spoke to her mostly about our time in Scotland. We told her how the kids had such a good time running around, rolling down the hills, splashing in the creek and learning to play croquet at the Burn. My son Aidan then gave her a posy of heathers.
“She asked him if he had seen them in Scotland, then proceeded to show him which types were in her bouquet and exclaimed that we should look out for them — they were very lucky!”
Goodenough College was founded in 1931 and is an independent educational charity that provides a secure and supportive environment for local and international postgraduate students.
The Queen’s visit to the college’s William Goodenough House comes more than 50 years after she officially declared the school open.
“She traditionally visits London House every five years. So it was wonderful to celebrate and be celebrated this time,” said Khairun.