Queen Elizabeth had an amazing capacity for remembering names and faces, despite the thousands of people she met all over the world. Two British citizens, who were appointed OBEs, recount memories of their meeting the queen in Oman in November 2010

She came… She saw… She conquered millions of hearts in Oman!

When Queen Elizabeth II visited Oman in 2010, great fanfare was organised around her visit which wasn’t her first – she had visited the sultanate in 1979. She was greeted with great pomp and warmth during her three-day stay in Oman which was part of her state visit to the Gulf.

A thousand horsemen and foot soldiers had escorted the queen’s motorcade on a 10km journey to Oman’s Al Alam Palace as well-wishers, residents of Britain in Oman, and school children greeted her along the way, while traditional performers beat drums and songs of greeting welcoming her majesty.

On her arrival, she was honoured with a 21-gun salute while the British national anthem played in the background. The queen, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, and the British foreign secretary, William Hague, greeted members of the Royal family, cabinet ministers and local British dignitaries before proceeding for a state luncheon.

The visit began with the British monarch touring the Grand Mosque in Muscat. She was also treated to a special performance put up by the Royal Cavalry horsemen and horsewomen, including a military procession of carriages and mounted riders, combined horses display, a musical display on coaches, and other traditional equestrian displays.

As part of the visit, the queen also met with a delegation of British businessmen in Oman who were privileged to apprise her majesty about trade relations between UK and Oman as well as upcoming promising ventures. The visit was also instrumental in accelerating some projects in the pipeline.

Two prominent British citizens in Oman who were appointed OBEs (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) Stephen Thomas and Maggie Jeans recall fond memories of their meeting the queen in Oman as well as attest their love and admiration for the departed monarch.

‘Grief is the price we pay…’

Stephen Thomas, CEO of Renaissance Services and current chairman of the British Business Forum, Oman, said, “Queen Elizabeth II was an inspirational world leader, a shining example of the importance of duty and service – she made a huge impact throughout her long reign, which history shall recognise as the ‘Great Elizabethan Era’.

“During Queen Elizabeth’s state visit to Oman in 2010, at the garden party, I had the honour to meet the queen with the task of introducing Her Majesty to colleagues from the business community. As the queen approached our group, the British ambassador said to Her Majesty, ‘You may have met Stephen when he was appointed OBE.’ I could see she was puzzled by this, with a look of certainty that she had not met me previously.”

Stephen added, “After formal introductions, I said, ‘Your Majesty, my investiture was carried out by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’. To which she smiled that beautiful smile and said, ‘Thank you for clearing that up, I was sure it wasn’t me.’ This was evidence of Queen Elizabeth’s amazing capacity for remembering names and faces, despite the thousands of people she met.”

He further asserted, “The Queen once said, ‘Grief is the price we pay for love,’ and that is why we are all grieving today. Queen Elizabeth II was loved by the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and by people all over the world. I have been deeply touched by the many messages I have received from Omani friends, sharing our mourning and offering their condolences to all of us and to our new King Charles III and his family.”

‘Utterly shattered by the news’

Maggie Jeans, who was appointed an OBE on Queen Elizabeth’s 90th Birthday for her services to British-Omani relations in the field of Education, says Queen Elizabeth has always had ‘an inspirational presence’ in her life, as for so many British subjects around the world.

“During the Royal visit to Muscat in 2010 several of us had the honour of being presented to the Queen at a garden party at the British Residence (residence of the British ambassador at Sidab). Duty and service were her motto and she led her nation by example. Today, my phone has been full of heartfelt messages of condolence, mostly from Omani friends, with images of the queen with the late HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said – two great leaders.”

Now a new chapter begins as Prince Charles ascends the throne.

In 2016 I received my OBE for services to Omani British relations from whilst he was on a state visit to Oman and now King Charles lll will lead the country forward into new era.

She further said, “Feeling – as we all are – utterly shattered by the news. It’s precisely as if a very close and beloved family member had died. I was born in 1953, the year of her majesty’s coronation. Queen Elizabeth II and the other members of the British Royal family have always had an inspirational presence in my life. As children, we waved the Union Jack flags at the road side during royal visits and eagerly watched Royal events on early black and white television.

“The British royal family have always enjoyed a special relationship with Oman which goes back to the 1800 agreement which declared that the bond between the two countries should remain unshaken until the end of time. There had always been a special bond between the late Queen Elizabeth and the late HM Sultan Qaboos. Two great inspirational leaders are sadly no longer with us. We shall not look upon their like again.”