Northampton boy, 5, lays flowers for Queen after wanting to meet her since Jubilee

A five-year-old boy visited Windsor Castle with his family to lay flowers for the Queen after asking to meet her since the Platinum Jubilee.

Jack Smart, his mum Kayleigh Smart and his younger sister three-year-old Madelyn, from Far Cotton, visited Royal residency Windsor Castle on Sunday (September 11).

The five-year-old had been telling his mum that he wanted to meet the Queen since the Platinum Jubilee. The family did not make it to Buckingham Palace before the Queen died. Instead Jack laid sunflowers for Her Majesty and Madelyn laid pink roses.

Mum Kayleigh said: “He kept on and on about meeting the Queen. He wanted to go to Buckingham Palace while she was in.

"I told him we would go after the Jubilee, but we never made it. I promised we’d go during the school holidays, but then it got to the last week and it had just flown by. We’d done everything else but been to London.”

When healthcare worker Kayleigh heard the news about the Queen’s death, she said she felt “the biggest mum guilt ever”.

The 32-year-old added: “Jack looked at me with his big blue eyes and said ‘you didn’t take me to see the Queen’.

"I told him we could go to the Queen's house and lay some flowers. He said ‘it’s not really the same, but fine’.

"If we didn’t do this it would have haunted me forever.”

Kayleigh described the atmosphere at Windsor Castle as “sad” and said there were people around them crying.

According to Kayleigh the area was packed and it took the family two hours to find parking. She did, however, say it was well organised and everyone working at Windsor was “polite”.

“I’m glad we went as it’s history and the Queen is all I’ve ever known,” Kayleigh continued.

"I said to my son that the Queen was 96 years old and still working. She did us proud.

"I think she just wanted to make sure we had a Prime Minister and that the country would be OK, as her last duty.”

Kayleigh says Jack “has not shut up” about the visit.

Jack’s grandmother is also creating a Queen scrapbook to give to him.