AN OLYMPIC swimmer from Swindon met the Queen when she invited Team GB for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace.

Brian Jenkins competed in the 200m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympic Games in November 1964 when he was just 20 years old.

Not long after his flight touched down on home ground, he and the other British swimmers received some surprising good news.

His wife Gillian told the Adver: "The Queen wanted to give them a tea party on the same day.

"They were a bit worn out because they had just come halfway around the world but they went straight to a London hotel.

"Their clothes were dry-cleaned and they were then taken to Buckingham Palace."

Though Gillian did not get the chance to go with him to this once-in-a-lifetime occasion, she was the main topic of conversation when Brian and Her Majesty got chatting.

Gillian added: "She wandered around and stopped at tables for a little chat. When she got to Brian's and talked to him, she said 'I expect you're very tired now'.

"He replied 'I just want to get home to my Gilly, we're getting married in four weeks,

"She congratulated him and said 'I hope you and your Gilly have a long and happy life together' - and we did!"

Gillian said: "How many people can say they spoke to the Queen in Buckingham Palace? It was a treasured memory for Brian, he felt quite honoured.

"I was chuffed to hear what happened when he came home. No-one else called me Gilly but him - and then the Queen!

"It was nice, though it didn't sink in at first because, after all that time away from each other, we went straight back into getting ready for the wedding

"I always remembered that in the back of my mind and I was devastated when she died, though it did bring it all back to me.

"She was lovely and always very sensible. She's always been there, you feel lost without her."

After his Olympic efforts, Brian went on to win medals in the Commonwealth Games and European Games.

He held the British 200m butterfly record for 43 years and trained at Milton Road Health Hydro while also working as an apprentice plumber.

Before putting his sporting days behind him to run his own plumbing business, Brian won the title of Mr Britain after entering a natural bodybuilding competition. 

He died on Christmas Eve 2017.