Coronation invitation follows Masters student's work with Prince's Countryside Fund

Posted 11 May 2023

An invitation to attend the celebrations of His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation led to a Harper Adams University postgraduate student discussing the historic occasion live on BBC TV.

 

The initial invitation was as a result of the work that BSc (Hons) Agriculture graduate Liz Tree, from Croydon, has been doing with the Prince’s Countryside Fund charity.

 

Among the focuses of Liz’s work with the trust has been efforts to boost diversity in farming – and she spoke as part of a Prince’s Countryside Fund panel on Removing Barriers for Young People in Farming at the 2022 Groundswell Agricultural conference. Her contributions to the panel drew on her final-year dissertation in 2022, which examined the issue in depth.

 

Following her graduation, Liz is now working with the Farms for City Children charity on a funded MRes studentship, backed by the charity and the Worshipful Company of Butchers, and has been evaluating Farms for City Children’s work educating young people about agriculture and food.

 

Having accepted her invitation to Saturday’s celebrations, she was asked if she’d be willing to give an interview live on BBC TV as part of the organisation’s Coronation coverage.

 

She said: “It was an amazing day – a once in a lifetime experience. We were in the Queen Victoria Memorial Grandstand, which had a direct view of Buckingham Palace – so while we weren’t watching the proceedings inside the Abbey, we got to see lots of Royals and special guests making their way to the Coronation.

 

“The interview itself – which took place later in the afternoon - was with Katty Kay and Christian Fraser – and was exhilarating but slightly terrifying!

 

“We talked about how I got invited and my involvement with the Prince’s Countryside Fund as well as my current Masters work with Farms for City Children, and my highlights of the day. 

 

“For me, there were three highlights from the event – obviously, seeing the King and Queen and the Royal Family was brilliant. 

 

“Then, I was so taken aback looking at the number of people involved in making sure the day proceeded smoothly – it was breathtaking! There were thousands of military personnel taking part – it was a massive undertaking. 

 

“My other highlight was the horses – again, the sheer number of them and how well trained they were – especially the drum horses.

 

“The calmness, at what was a truly historic occasion, was spectacular.”