Jill's chat with Prince Charles

TRAFFIC jams following an accident meant that De La Warr Pavilion campaigner Jill Theis nearly missed a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

The former Rother councillor, from Henley Down near Catsfield, was awarded the MBE in the New Year Honours List for her services.

Now she has been invested with her award by the Prince of Wales.

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Asked if she was nervous before the event, she said: "I was anxious. We were a tiny bit late getting to Buckingham Palace. There was an accident in Trafalgar Square.

"Everyone at the Palace was lovely.

"When they read out that my award was for services to architecture, Prince Charles' face lit up. He has this magic quality that you read about with the Royal Family of making you feel you are the one person he wants to meet - when there are hundreds there.

"I asked him if he had seen the pavilion. He said no, but he would very much like to get down to see it one day.

"We had a mutual admiration society chat about architecture. Although I don't agree with all his views, I very much admire his interest in architecture."

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Jill served for 16 years as a Liberal Democrat member of Rother. But it was for her single-minded determination to see the Grade One Listed De La Warr Pavilion restored to its former glory that she was honoured.

At the time, she insisted: "This is a tribute to EVERYONE who has been involved with that building..."

Jill's husband, Michael, a development planner, was taking part in an architectural workshop in Delhi but she was accompanied to the investiture by her daughters Martha and Lucy and son Patrick. Martha is an artist and print-maker, Lucy a QC and Patrick an architect.

Jill said: "It was a magic day - for Bexhill."