A NEWPORT brownie has been invited to Buckingham Palace this week, for a very special tea party.

Nine-year-old Millie Leadley, from Oakfield Road, will be joining brownies from all over the United Kingdom at a Royal tea party on the famous palace lawns on Wednesday, in celebration of 100 years of Brownies.

Millie is just one of 50 brownies from across the UK, lucky enough to be invited to the tea party.

She said: “I’m thrilled and excited.”

Accompanying Millie on the day, will be her mum, Alex, who happens to be celebrating her birthday on Wednesday too. “I’m really excited,” she said. “It’s such a one-off opportunity.” Joining them will be the Girlguiding’s president, HRH, The Countess of Wessex.

The Year Four pupil, of Ysgol Cymraeg Casnewydd, is already a fan of the Royal family and visited Buckingham palace for her eighth birthday. “I’ve never actually been inside though,” she said.

Millie’s favourite Royal family member who she’ll be looking out for on the day is Prince George. She said: “We don’t know if the Queen will be there, we’ll see if the flag is up when we get there.”

Millie has been going to the Newport 16th West Brownies at The Pantomime Hall every Wednesday for the last two years and said she was worried she wouldn’t get back from London in time for it this week.

She said her favourite parts of brownies was the arts and crafts and playing games. This year, girls are celebrating The Big Brownie Birthday by tackling challenges big and small, from carrying out acts of kindness to taking on rafting, rock climbing and zip wiring and raising awareness of issues affecting girls in the UK and worldwide.

Girlguiding wants to inspire more girls with the confidence to take part in sport.