Delighted Blidworth couple receive card from newly-crowned King and Queen

Tom and Margaret Mounsey received a card from the newly-crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla, signed by the royal couple, who congratulated them on their 60th anniversary.

"They were delighted to receive the card,” said Tracy Mounsey, who is the Blidworth couple’s daughter-in-law. “We are going to get it framed for them.”

Former Army soldier Tom, 83, and Margaret 78, watched the Coronation on TV before celebrating their own milestone the following day with a surprise party with all the family at their home on Rockwood Close.

"When we arrived, Tom was asleep and Margaret was doing some gardening!” said Tracy. “It was a lovely surprise for them, and there were a few tears.

"It was really nice for the whole family to get together. Some of them hadn’t seen each other for years.

“Most of them live in the Mansfield area, but my son Adam, who has been in the forces and lives in Somerset, was also there.”

In all, Tom and Margaret have three children, Stephen, who lives with wife Tracy in Forest Town, and Marie and Julie, who both live in Blidworth. There are also six grandchildren, Adam, Natalie, Jessica, Thomas, Melina and Katie, and six great grandchildren.

Through four generations, the whole family has a strong connection with the military, so the Coronation parade was particularly poignant.

Tom and Margaret hail from Rotherham and were married in the south Yorkshire town while he was serving in the Army in 1963. They moved to Blidworth in the 1980s.

Tom also worked in the coal mines and the steelworks industry before retiring. He loves sport and has been a keen pigeon-fancier since he was a teenager.

It has been a devastating blow to him in recent months to give up his hobby after falling seriously ill. He contracted sepsis and then had a heart attack.

Margaret, who is secretary of the local pigeon club in Blidworth, spends much of her time caring for him. She enjoys reading and is dedicated to her family.

The couple also love watching telly, with Tom a fan of Sky Sports. So a new big-screen TV, installed during Sunday’s party, was the perfect wedding anniversary gift from all the family.