A well-known former Machynlleth butcher who received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II with a Biro tucked behind his ear has paid tribute to Britain's longest reigning monarch who died aged 96.

William Lloyd Williams made headlines in 2009 when he collected the prestigious award at Buckingham Palace for services to the meat industry.

"She was very charming," William said. "I asked the Lord Chancellor’s office because the Biro was part of my uniform. And I asked if I was allowed to wear it and they said yes. We spoke about the importance of small abattoirs and very short food chains. She said keep up the good work and she had a grin when she saw the Biro shining in the light."

The well-known businessman added: "It’s a huge honour to have an MBE but to be awarded by The Queen as well was icing on the cake.

"She was a very dignified lady. She gave her whole life to serve the country and the people of the country."

William decided to hang up his white cat and cleaver last year after retiring from the business, William Lloyd Williams & Sons, that was founded by his grandfather in 1959 and now has a senior position with the Football Association of Wales busy working at grassroots level in mid Wales and the excitement of Wales possibly going to two World Cups.

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Looking back at the special occasion at Buckingham Palace almost 13 years ago, Williams said

"It was a big day. I would always play pranks on people, and if you play pranks you are prepared to have pranks played on you. When I had the letter from the Lord Chancellor’s Office I wasn’t sure if it was true or not but as I looked more into it and the content of the letter I could see that it was serious.

"I think because of the way she is, she is a countryside focussed, she saw the importance of knowing where the food we are about to eat comes from and I think that is of paramount importance these days.

"She understood the reason that I was having the award which was really important to me and she had a background of what I did."

"We spoke about the importance about the animals not travelling and the short food chain. Of course, since then we’ve had Covid and we’ve seen how much of a difference that did make to people. Because you couldn’t nip to Aldi’s in Newtown because you weren’t allowed to go. The small man was very much depended on. Unfortunately since then people have forgotten about it and gone back to the big guys and that’s the problem.