Doris Turpie’s 100th birthday card is not, in fact, the first time that she and King Charles have connected.
Doris hit her century last Friday, and her family and friends gathered at Motueka’s Jack Inglis Aged Care Home to celebrate her achievement.
Born in the United Kingdom’s Lancashire and raised in Cheshire, Doris had an idyllic childhood that literally included taking her pet lamb to school each day.
At 17, the First World War put paid to her fledgling career as a wallpaper and fabric designer, as she opted to join the Royal Air Force instead. She served in the catering corps, and on one occasion found herself serving egg sandwiches to King George VI. The monarch commented to her that the refreshments were a treat, even for him, as eggs were rationed.
She married after the war and had two children, Tom and Jacqueline. Those earlier artistic talents were rekindled through her pursuits of watercolour painting and gardening.
Every year, she holidayed on the Isles of Scilly, which is located off the coast of Cornwall. Much of the land there is the property of the Duchy of Cornwall, with Prince William as the current duke. Back in the 1980s, the Duke of Cornwall was a 30-something-year-old Prince Charles, whom Doris just happened to bump into on one of her trips.
Her daughter Jacqui says this was quite an accomplishment for her mother, who has always been an ardent royalist.
Doris emigrated to Māpua in 2002 to be with her daughter and grandson, and she immediately fell in love with the wildlife, climate and scenery.
Jacqui says that it has been a privilege to have Doris here for the past 22 years, calling her a lovely mum.
“She’s a very special lady.”
