Penrith man Stan Blacklock was introduced to Princess Anne when she met with congregation members of the Scots Kirk Paris Presbyterian Protestant Church, in Paris, last Friday.
Stan, aged 86, is a long-standing congregation member of the church, having attended his first service there in 1957 when he was posted to France as part of his national service, when he served at the British Hospital in Paris as a nursing orderly.
On his meeting with The Princess Royal, who is patron of the Eric Liddell 100, Stan told the Herald: “I could not believe it was happening.
“I woke up the next morning and thought it was a dream.”
Eric Liddell was a Scottish sprinter who, at the summer Olympics in Paris in 1924, refused to run in the heats of his favourite race, the 100 metres, because they were held on a Sunday.
Instead, he chose to speak in the Scots Kirk and competed in the 400m event, held on weekdays, where he won gold.
As part of the visit, Her Royal Highness was able to view The Eric Liddell 100 exhibition which had been curated for Scots Kirk Paris, and unveiled a plaque to commemorate the visit.
