Maidenhead Synagogue member Ruby Pitch is the same age as the Queen. And last Thursday, Mrs Pitch was one of a group of local 90-year-olds who chatted to the monarch at Windsor Guildhall before a lunch hosted by the Maidenhead and Windsor Mayor.

"It is quite a surreal thing," Mrs Pitch said. "You feel like you are dreaming when you see her coming towards you. She asked where I lived and when I had turned 90 [it was in March].

"She's quite tiny. She wears big hats which make her look taller than she is."

Mrs Pitch added that the birthday cake, made by Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, was "absolutely delicious".

The great-grandmother - who was accompanied to the lunch by daughter Gill - did not come empty-handed, bringing a birthday card featuring an image of one of her paintings.

She wears big hats which make her look taller than she is

She was also interviewed for BBC One's coverage of the royal birthday celebrations and her television debut attracted much complimentary comment from fellow guests at Maidenhead's communal Seder.

A retired engineering draughtswoman, Mrs Pitch and her family moved to Maidenhead from Southgate in 1977. Her late husband Harry was a musician whose credits included the Last of the Summer Wine TV series.