Queen meets Christians and other faith groups at Buckingham Palace

At a reception held at Buckingham Palace, the monarch greeted 160 representatives of different beliefs and faiths from across the UK.

A smaller group of 12 volunteers and community workers had the chance to discuss with her their efforts to bring about positive change in their neighbourhoods.

They said the Queen took time to quiz them on their work in supporting people from a variety of backgrounds and encouraged them to work together in future now they had met each other.

Rachael Cox, from Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham, who develop community engagement projects with refugee communities and asylum seekers, said the Queen seemed “empathetic” during the discussion.

“She was very interested in all of our work with refugees and asylum seekers in particular,” she said.

“She seemed very empathetic to the situation they’re in and the difficulties that they face.”

This evening I will mostly be eating with an elderly sister in Christ who lives in a large house in central London!

— Dai Hankey (@daihankey) June 25, 2019

Pastor Dai Hankey, from Cardiff, called the Queen “genuinely buzzing” to hear the community leaders networking amongst themselves.

Following his conversation with the monarch, he said: “She was very aware. You get the impression that people who live in palaces aren’t aware of the outside world, but she really does know what’s going on in the world and…