Not many people live long enough to receive the coveted royal letter, however Northwood resident Beatrice Freeth has received her second letter from the Windsors on her 105th birthday.
Beatie is a wife, widow, mother, friend, and centenarian who still lives independently.
She received a card from Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her 100th birthday back in 2020. On Monday, January 20, 2025, she received another royal delivery from Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Beatie was born in Hammersmith, the eldest daughter of two. As her father worked in the Royal Navy, their family moved all around the country.
“I’ve always been here there and everywhere,” Beatie told Northwood & Ruislip News.
The Second World War was declared when Beatie was just 19. Her father left to serve in the Navy and her sister began working in the Land Army, leaving Beatie at home with her mother.
Beatie stayed in Woodford and worked as a GPO telephonist in the city of London.
She recalled walking from St Paul’s to Liverpool Street during the blackouts with searchlights and sirens whirling around her.
She said: “I didn’t think anything of it.”
Beatie met her late husband Bill through his sister and the two married when she was in her thirties.
She bought a peach-coloured dress for the occasion, costing her two guineas.
Beatie and Bill had a happy marriage full of romance and shared two children together – David and Phillip, Bill’s son from a previous marriage.
Bill sadly died when David was just 15, forcing Beatie to go back to work.
Beatie said: “There were no benefits or anything like they get now. The only income I had was £8.”
Beatie’s friend Pat said: “You were a toughie weren’t you?”
Beatie responded: “I had to be.”
When asked what advice she would give to a young person, Beatie said: “To be kind to people. It gets you a long way if you’re nice to them.
“If you give out kindness and good stuff, most times you get it back.”
Beatie celebrated her birthday with her friends at a local lunch club. The special occasion called for her favourite meal of roast lamb and a birthday cake.
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