Prince William spotted ‘Diana’s biggest superfan’ in the crowd of people lined up to welcome the royals at Sandringham yesterday.
But the Prince delighted him further by calling out to royal fanatic John Loughrey, 70, by name – before introducing him to Charlotte, Louis, and George.
Mr Loughrey, sporting a hat clad in pins of the Royal Family and bearing gifts for William’s children, wished the family a merry Christmas and told Prince George, ‘Diana would be proud of you.’
The royal children politely greeted the superfan and thanked him for his gifts, with Charlotte adding, ‘Thank you very much, that’s so kind.’
The man who has been referred to as Princess Diana’s biggest superfan was even acknowledged by King Charles II.
As the monarch shook hands and greeted the festive well-wishers who were lined up outside the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk yesterday, he noted Mr Loughrey’s impressive badge collection, saying: ‘You’ve collected more badges since last year!’
John Loughrey, from Wandsworth, south west London, arrived at 9 pm on Christmas Eve and spent the night on a fold-up chair outside the gates and was first in the queue outside Sandringham’s War Memorial gates to welcome the royals on Christmas Day.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘It was cold, but I had heat pads inside my jumper and hand warmers.
‘There’s something special about sharing Christmas Day with the royals at Sandringham.’
The royal megafan also came armed with a portrait of himself, painted in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, from 2012, which he hoped to pass on to Prince William.
The retired chef assistant was painted by artist Rebecca Francesca Cartwright de Fontenelle and featured in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2012 exhibition.
‘I have met him several times before,’ Mr Loughrey said of Prince William.
‘I last saw William at the Centrepoint homeless charity a few weeks ago, and I told him I would bring a special gift for him to Sandringham.’
Mr Loughrey had also met William back in March when he visited a mental health charity founded in 2017 by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales called Mental Health Innovations (MHI) in White City.
Prince William also stopped in March to greet Mr Loughrey, where he discussed his plans to have more royal memorabilia commissioned.
The superfan well known to the Press is a frequent visitor to St Paul’s Cathedral and, when the Queen passed away in 2022, he planned to camp outside Buckingham Palace for ten days in mourning.
I guess some would say that this was an extremely odd obsession, but as they say, ‘whatever tickles your fancy,’ and who are we to say what is strange and what is normal?
To be fair, he sounds like a patriot and values his country. It’s a pity we don’t have more people like him – I would tip my hat to him if I wore one.
The man is harmless, and if it makes him happy, so be it, and it’s lovely that William and Kate paid attention to everybody, not just the important people.
You just have to recognise the genuine and authentic happiness some people have for the royal family, and it appears that the Wales family appreciate him and know him. The man is harmless, and they are well protected, so why not? The Wales children were brilliant with him and so mannerly.
People had some terrible things to say about this individual. The man should be left alone, and people should just mind their own business. So what if the Royals are the centre of his existence?
Can you imagine the poor man reading all of the nasty comments about him, and at Christmas as well? I thought this was the time of year when everyone was nice to each other, and if people have got nothing good to say, they shouldn’t say anything at all!
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 