A Littleport woman was invited to Stockholm by the Swedish Bandy Association (SBA) to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge participating at a bandy session.
Lyn Gibb-de Swarte, president of the GB Bandy Federation, travelled to the open air ice rink at Vasaparketn on January 30 where Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, was presented with a Hammarby player’s shirt with his name on it. Hammarby is the leading bandy club in Stockholm.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was given a player’s shirt too – and the couple both had a go at shots on goal.
The pair then went to the country’s royal palace for a lunch hosted by the king, Carl XVI Gustaf.
Littleport was indirectly represented as the duchess wore a Burberry coat for the event, and the Burberry factory was based in Littleport, at Thomas Peacock’s Hope Brothers building, for many years.
Anders Hagbo, chief executive officer of Hammarby and the Zinken stadium, gave Lyn, and GBBF fixtures secretary Cathy Gibb-de Swarte, a preview of the shirts when they were guests of Hammarby on the Monday before the big day.
Club chairman Jan Henriksson, said: “We are looking forward to close co-operation and friendship between our bandy community in Sweden and the GBBF in the UK.”
The GBBF is now planning for an international rink bandy competition in conjunction with the SBA late August, with bandy sessions starting at Peterborough’s Planet Ice soon.
Now they have tasted bandy in Sweden, it is hoped that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend the GB v Sweden rink bandy match in Cambridgeshire.
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