Everybody has memories of Queen Elizabeth II, but in north Norfolk, which has the largest proportion of elderly people in the country, people perhaps have more of such memories than most. Reporter Daniel Hickey went to a care home in North Walsham to speak to five of its residents.

On Tuesday morning (September 13), at Walsham Grange Care Home in Bacton Road in North Walsham, the receptionist was printing and laminating pictures of the Queen, which would be taped up around the home ahead of the state funeral on Monday.

In the Serenity Bar, five residents gathered to share their memories of growing up during the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

%image(15263053, type="article-full", alt="Joan Kerrison, 86, watched the 1952 coronation on her father's television - the first set that was bought in the village of Alby.")

Joan Kerrison, 86, who was born in Alby, said she once saw the Queen when she visited Norwich.

"We were all queued up, but a policeman stepped in front of me," she said. "I tapped him on the shoulder and I said, 'Excuse me, Mr Policeman, you're not going to stand in front of me'.

"He moved away then and the Queen came along in a car.

"I managed to take a photo of her."

Mrs Kerrison also said she used to buy anything to do with the royals, "plates and everything".

"I saw her get married on the television," she added.

"She was a very warm person but now I think she's up there with the one she loved, and that makes me feel secure."

Ms Kerrison's father was one of the first people in Alby to get a television, which meant she could watch the coronation at home in 1953.

She thinks that Charles will be a "good king".

"I'm sure about that. That's been with him all his life," she said.

%image(15263059, type="article-full", alt="Sylvia Briggs, 85, from County Durham, remembers the "great excitement" before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.")

Sylvia Briggs, 85, said before the Queen was coronated, "everybody wanted Princess Margaret".

"Princess Elizabeth was in the background," Ms Briggs said. "I think she was a little more shy as she realised the position she was going to have. She had all of that history in front of her."

Ms Briggs said there was "great excitement" before the Queen's coronation.

"We didn't have a TV set," she said. "I went to a friend of my father's house. People who had TVs had their house full of people to watch it.

"People bought TVs just in order to see it, because not that many people had TVs then."

Ms Briggs, who was born and brought up in County Durham, said: "We were too far away from the royal family, on the other end of the country.

"The Queen wasn't the centre of our world.

"We didn't disrespect her or anything, but when you live near the borders, you're not wondering what the Queen is doing in London."

Looking to the future and the reign of King Charles III, Ms Briggs said she thought the monarchy should be modernised.

"They should retire at the age of 65, just like everybody else," she said.

This adjustment would allow a monarch to "retire gracefully" and then set the stage for younger kings and queens, she said.

%image(15263063, type="article-full", alt="John Creed, 88, watched the coronation parades when he was a boy growing up in London's East End in the 1950s.")

John Creed, 88, is originally from the east end of London. When he was a boy he lived only 10 minutes away from Buckingham Palace.

"I saw all of the coronation," he said. Unlike the others, Mr Creed did not need a television to watch the parades.

Mr Creed also said he used to see the Queen "every Sunday night at the London Palladium".

He said: "The impression was one of awe. 'My God, that's the Queen'.

"She was a very friendly and loving person."

%image(15263069, type="article-full", alt="Daphne Hannant, 96, met the Queen in 1963 during a factory visit.")

Daphne Hannant, 96, met the Queen in 1963 while she was visiting a factory.

"She's a hard-working woman," she said. "Her photos don't do her justice.

"We had all the flags ready. She had to be so quick. It was a lovely day."

She has photos of the Queen "everywhere" in her home, she said.

%image(15263074, type="article-full", alt="Margaret Hicks, 89, at Walsham Grange Care Home in North Walsham.")

Margaret Hicks, 88, said: "I admired her. She was a lovely lady."