Bloomington college professor recounts her close encounter with Queen Elizabeth II
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- As the world continues to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth, a Minnesota college professor is reflecting on her connection to her majesty.
It happened during a study abroad trip to England in 2000. That's when professor Yvonne Klocek, of Normandale Community College, got up close and personal with the queen.
"It was a study abroad program. It was the first year of that program," Klocek said.
She happened to be the lead instructor during that trip to Oriel College in the city of Oxford. It's a college that dates back to the 1300s. Her students were actually on a field trip to London when she got word that the Queen was coming to town.
"The day arrived and it was extremely stormy, and dark. And I almost didn't go," Klocek said.
Convinced that she wasn't going to get close to the Queen Elizabeth, Klocek made an attempt to see her anyway, hoping to get pictures for the students. She set up on a horseshoe driveway, close to where the matriarch would arrive for a ribbon cutting.
"I was at the perfect place," Klocek said. "It was luck."
Klocek's pictures show the queen arriving and then moving closer and closer, eventually walking right up to her camera.
"I don't think the camera ever left my face through all these pictures," Klocek said. "Then I realized that my knees were shaking."
Her friend from Germany gave the queen a compliment that allowed Klocek to take one of her favorite pictures of all time.
"He said something very sweet to her and the minute he said it she just sparked," Klocek said.
Knowing it was a rare encounter, Klocek's Oriel College friends encouraged her to send a picture book to the queen, which she did. She received a letter back from Buckingham Palace informing her that her majesty had seen the pictures and was quite pleased.
"With the queen having a reign for as long as she had, everyone related to her. I feel that we are all feeling the loss," Klocek said.
Klocek thinks she got that close to Queen Elizabeth because Oriel College had tried to keep her visit low-key.
In 2002 she held an exhibit at Normandale called "Bits and Bobs," which highlighted her photographs of the queen.