A four-year-old boy who is “besotted” with being a Queen’s Guard has been left “heartbroken” by Her Majesty’s death.
Frank Gates from Egremont paid his respects to the late monarch last week as he lowered the Union flag at Egremont Castle, while dressed in his treasured Queen’s guard outfit.
But the flag which was flying half-mast outside the castle was ripped down by vandals on Saturday night, leaving the Friends of Egremont Castle “incredibly saddened”.
Frank went along the following day with his dad John Gates, who owns Jubilee Garage in Egremont, and they replaced the ripped flag.
Mr Gates said: “He’s absolutely mad on being the Queen’s guard. We don’t know where it’s come from.
“We take him to London as often as we can. He’s been to Edinburgh too and he marches with the soldiers on the pavement.
“He likes to dress up anyway but by far is his favourite is the Queen’s guard.
“When the Queen died, I had to tell him because he would find out when he went to school the next day. He broke his heart.
He said, ‘I don’t want to be a King’s Guard. I want to be a Queen’s Guard’.
“He’s had a few tears.”
Mr Gates said the family don’t need to take many clothes for Frank when they visit London because he has his guardsman uniform on “the whole time”.
He said: “We go down there with three suits and he wears it the whole time. We have to go and see changing of the guard every day. He’s besotted with it.
“It’s great to watch when the soldiers turn up.”
Keith Nichol, chair of Friends of Egremont Castle, said: “Friends of Egremont Castle were delighted when John Gates of Jubilee Garage, Egremont offered to replace the damaged Union Jack that was initially provided by Egremont Rugby League Club.
“Frank Gates has proved to be our poster boy for FoEC. He came to the official launch of the Jubilee Flower Bed and we could allow him to miss out in the opportunity to be in attendance when we replaced the flag.”
READ MORE: Horse guard of honour put on at Egremont church service in memory of The Queen
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