Award-winning Harrogate autism champion looks back on day he met the Queen as a small boy

Rory Hoy, a successful DJ, music producer and filmmaker, was diagnosed with autism when he was just five-years old.

He attended a special school until he was nearly nine but then continued his education in a mainstream environment, gaining GCSEs and A levels.

"When the Queen visited Harrogate in 1998 I was keen to meet her.

"I was ten years old and quite markedly autistic.

"Because I was so frightened of crowds at that time, mum wrote to Jean McQuarrie, who was then editor of the Harrogate Advertiser, to ask her if she knew of any place on the Queen’s route that would have been quieter.

"Mum also wrote to the Queen herself.

"A few days after posting off the letter, we had a call from the Chief of Police in Yorkshire to say The Queen had read Mum’s letter and would be delighted to meet me.

"It was arranged that mum and I would stand outside the Harrogate Theatre and be introduced to The Queen before she went in.

"I took a red rose with me to hand to her, and when she approached, she beamed at me and said “Ooh, what a lovely rose. Thank you.”

When he was 18, Rory made a trailblazing film of his experience of autism called Autism and Me which went on to win several awards.

He has won three national awards, a UNICEF Special Mention and a Royal Television Society Nomination.

In 2010, Rory was appointed a Centenary Ambassador for UK Youth, the charity committed to ensuring all young people are empowered to build bright futures, regardless of their background or circumstances

But he has never forgotten the day he met the Queen and Buckingham Palace hasn't either.

Rory said: "A long time after I met the Queen as a boy, just this year, in fact, we received a lovely letter from Buckingham Palace, where The Queen praised my work in promoting understanding of autism."