As the fourth season of The Crown airs on Netflix, you may be interested to know that several of the key protagonists have links to Queenswood.

Mrs Thatcher’s daughter Carol was a pupil in the 1960s.

A decade earlier, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother toured the school as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and in 1938 Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother) also paid a royal visit.

The following is taken from In Hortis Reginae: A History of Queenswood School by Nigel Watson:

‘The drive was...lined by girls in white crêpe de Chine dresses, the red blazered prefects lining each side of the main entrance, providing a colourful contrast. The Welwyn Times and Hatfield Herald commented upon the manner in which the Queen Mother was greeted: “As the Royal car drove past the lined schoolgirls, a ripple ran down the white-dressed column as each dipped into a silent curtsey”. One girl remembers that the school’s royal visitor drifted around the gardens, with little pockets of girls standing at prearranged points waiting to be talked to. Miss Essame told the governors that “the girls had shown an assurance and ease which had much impressed the Queen Mother”.’

The Queen Mother’s visit to Queenswood – 24 June 1955.

Queen Mary (holding the bouquet) with Lord Stamp, head girl Diana Parry, and Miss Trew – 19 March 1938.